Russia, China veto UN resolution seeking ceasefire in Aleppo

Russia and China vetoed a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution seeking a seven-day ceasefire in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo.

Reports state that Venezuela also voted against the resolution, however, the remaining 11 council members were in favour of the ceasefire in Aleppo to provide humanitarian aid.

Reports state that the Syrian government forces have taken a majority of the besieged  rebel-held areas in Aleppo, causing more than 10,000 civilians to flee the violence-struck region as the forces pressed for an offensive. Rebels have, for months, been engaged in battle with the Syrian government and their Russian allies in eastern Aleppo, and want to topple the government.

The Syrian government had also refused the United Nations offer for a truce in battle-struck Aleppo last month and asked the rebels in the region to withdraw. The UN had proposed a truce in Aleppo by asking the Syrian government to grant autonomy to rebel-held regions of eastern Aleppo in exchange for peace.

This was the sixth time Russia blocked a resolution proposed by the UN council on the ongoing Syrian conflict which began in March 2011. This was China's fifth time blocking a UN resolution for Aleppo truce.

Russia is a close ally of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and on several occasions has expressed its reservation to the ceasefire proposal in Aleppo. Moscow also attempted to postpone the recent voting of the resolution until Tuesday; however, the main supporters of the resolution, Paris, London and Washington, decided to go ahead with it.

Russian and US officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva, and the Russian side said that the talks will mainly concern about a plan to make all the rebel fighters in the eastern Aleppo to be withdrawn from the region.

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that both the sides are "close to an agreement on the basic elements." However, deputy US ambassador Michele Sison said that there was no such agreement made with Russia and accused Churkin of making up an alibi.

"We will not let Russia string along the Security Council. We will continue bilateral negotiations (with Russia) to relieve the suffering in Aleppo, but we have not reached a breakthrough because Russia wants to keep its military gains," Sison said.