Russia to veto draft UN resolution on Syrian war

Russia will veto a draft resolution of the UN Security Council which intends to refer the Syrian civil war to the International Criminal Court, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said here Wednesday.

Churkin, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks as he was speaking to reporters here at the end of a closed-door meeting of the Security Council on the situation of eastern Ukraine, Xinhua reported.

Asked whether Russia will veto the draft resolution on Syria, Churkin said, "Yes, (I) will do."

Russia has voiced its opposition to the referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court.

The 15-nation Security Council is expected to vote on the draft resolution on Thursday.

Under the UN Charter, Russia is one of the five permanent council members with veto power.

France, another permanent council member, circulated the draft resolution May 12 in a bid to bring Syria before the International Criminal Court for review of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Syrian government has for long charged that regional countries are facilitating the flow of foreign jihadists into Syria to join the rebels' battle against government forces, Xinhua reported.

The Syrian crisis started in mid-March 2011 when anti- government protesters took to the streets calling for reforms. But it rapidly evolved into a civil war that has so far killed over 150,000 people and displaced about one third of Syrian population.