Instead of Russia being the lone veto on a resolution demanding an end to the bombing campaign by Syrian and Russian aircraft in Aleppo, now the Western powers have vetoed a resolution calling for a halt to fighting in that region. The rival Russian draft which made no mention of a bombing halt was rejected because it failed to get the minimum nine "yes" votes needed for approval by the 15-member council. “But certainly some ambassadors were pointing the finger at Russia because, of course, the first resolution that was proposed by France, which suggested that all military aircraft over Aleppo should be grounde,d would have gone through if it wasn’t for the Russian veto.”

After Russia’s proposal failed to gather enough votes, Matthew Rycroft, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, asked Russia to “Stop bombing Aleppo now”. The French-backed resolution received 11 "yes" votes, two "no" votes from Russia and Venezuela, and abstentions from China and Angola. After Russia’s veto, the council moved to the second vote on the Russian-drafted text, but it failed to gather enough votes to pass. BEIRUT (Reuters) – Russia vetoed a French-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution yesterday that would have demanded an immediate end to air strikes and military flights over Syria’s Aleppo city and called for a truce and humanitarian aid access throughout Syria. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who addressed the session before the vote on the French resolution, warned that the continued bombing of Aleppo was killing civilians and destroying hospitals and schools — "and has nothing to do with combatting terrorism," as Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and its close ally Russia contend. He said the French resolution's adoption would have been the first where the Security Council decided on a course of action for a permanent council member without prior agreement — meaning that Russia would have been required to stop all flights and bombing of Aleppo.
Russia vetoes a French-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution that calls for a ceasefire in Aleppo. China, which had backed Russia's four previous Syria-related vetoes, abstains.