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Russia Vetoes U.N. Demand for End to Bombing of Syria's Aleppo

Russia has vetoed a U.N. resolution on Syria for the fifth time since the conflict began in 2011.
Image: Aleppo, Syria
People dig in the rubble in an ongoing search for survivors at a site hit previously by an airstrike in the rebel-held Tariq al-Bab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, Sept. 26.ABDALRHMAN ISMAIL / Reuters

UNITED NATIONS — Russia vetoed a French-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution on Saturday 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.

It is the fifth time Russia has vetoed a U.N. resolution on Syria during the more than five-year conflict. The previous four times Moscow was backed by Beijing, but on Saturday China abstained from the vote.

Angola also abstained, while Venezuela joined Russia in voting against the text. Eleven of the 15 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.

Related: United States Suspends Contact With Russia Over Syria Impasse

A U.N. resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes to be adopted. The veto powers are the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China.