Russia, China veto draft U.N. resolution on Syrian civil war

The unadopted draft resolution, proposed by France, received 13 votes in favor and two against, Xinhua reports.

The vote at the 15-nation U.N. body made it a fourth double veto by Russia and China on a West-drafted resolution on Syria, with the two countries having vetoed three previous draft resolutions on the issue.

Syria is not a state party to the Rome Statute which established the ICC, so the only way the Middle East country can be referred to the tribunal, based in The Hague, is by the Security Council.

France, another permanent council member, circulated the draft resolution among council members on May 12 in a bid to refer the Syrian civil war, current in its fourth year, to the ICC for a review of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.