UN, March 1. /TASS/. Washington is set to persuade its partners in Europe to impose sanctions against the Syrian government and officials blamed for chemical attacks in the country, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said.
"The names of people and companies involved in Assad’s use of chemical weapons are public - all listed in the annex of this draft resolution for everyone to see. The United States has already designated for sanctions every person and every entity listed in the annex," she said. "We will work with our EU and other like-minded partners to push for similar sanctions as soon as possible."
Russia and China have vetoed a United Nations Security Council draft resolution to impose sanctions on Syria over chemical attacks allegedly carried out by Damascus. The document, initiated by the UK, the US and France, scored nine votes, the required minimum for passing a document. So, Russia and China had to use their right to veto.
The draft envisaged a ban on supplies of all types of helicopters to the Syrian government, army and government structures. As a reason for such sanctions, the document cited conclusions of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism, which blamed Damascus for three chemical attacks, in which containers presumably containing chlorine were dropped from military helicopters. Russia and China dismissed the conclusions as not convincing.
The draft also envisaged sanctions against a number of Syrian officials and government structures allegedly involved in the chemical attacks and production of poisonous agents.
On January 12, the United States imposed sanctions against Syrian military commanders allegedly involved in chemical attacks. Sanctions were also imposed on scientific and industrial enterprises who allegedly took part in developing and producing toxic agents.