United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley harshly criticized Russian support of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime Wednesday, asking how many more Syrian children have to die before the Kremlin cares.
Haley accused Russia of shielding its ally, Assad, against U.N. sanctions. She also accused Iran of reinforcing Assad’s forces.
“If Russia has the influence in Syria that it claims to have, we need to see them use it,” Haley said, while speaking at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. “We need to see them put an end to these horrific acts. How many more children have to die before Russia cares?”
WATCH:
WATCH: Amb. Haley’s full statement in UN condemning Assad regime and Russia over Syria chemical massacre. https://t.co/kzcTNlzjnD
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) April 5, 2017
Assad is believed to be responsible for Tuesday’s chemical weapons attack on a city in northern Syria, which left scores dead and more than 200 injured. The regime is suspected to have used sarin gas in the attack, a deadly nerve agent outlawed in 1997 by the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Russia, which holds veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council, has shielded Syria from U.N. resolutions in the past.
The Kremlin denied Assad was responsible for Tuesday’s attack, claiming that Syrian forces struck a “large terrorist warehouse” where terrorists were making bombs “with toxic substances,” thus creating a chemical spill.
“Time and time again, Russia uses the same false narrative to deflect attention from their allies in Damascus, time and time again, without any factual basis, Russia attempts to place blame on others,” Haley said. “There is an obvious truth here, that must be spoken. The truth is that Assad, Russia and Iran have no interest in peace.”
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