thirty of the security council. as a pretext for aggression you mention the alleged use of chemical weapons in the syrian city of duma. representatives of russia after an inspection by our experts unequivocally stated that no such incident took place furthermore there were people found who took part in this staging. and in fact the inspirers and organizes that staging were foreign intelligence services. after this event the syrian authorities immediately invited experts from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons so that they conduct a field mission to do my in order to establish the facts. one quickly of these are formalities were resolved and guarantees of security were provided at the time the strikes were conducted experts were already in syria and getting ready to begin their work i want to recall to the members of the security council and everyone else that on the tenth of april when i draft resolution. on secure work of the special mission of the o.p.c. w was blocked. we were assured of that

secretary general who will be briefing the security council let's go to the council chamber. meeting. of the security council is called to order. the provisional agenda for this meeting is. now threats to international peace and security the situation in the middle east. the agenda is adopted. in accordance with rule thirty seven of the council's provisional rules of procedure i invite the representative of the syrian arab republic to participate in this meeting it is so decided. the security council will now begin its consideration of item two of the agenda. i wish to warmly welcome of the secretary general his excellency mr. and i give him the floor. mr president excellences. the situation in the middle east is in kaos to such an extent it has become a strat to international peace and security the region is facing it through guardian not different fault lines crossing each other and creating a highly volatile situation with risks of escalation fragmentation and division as far as the eye can see with profound regional and global ramifications we see the multiplicity of divi

security council and in fact they've said that. the russians calling emergency meeting of the council as early as later today they've also addressed something that france had to say while justifying its produce a patient in the strikes france had said that basically it had intelligence information that since two thousand and thirteen the syrian government were pursuing the secret chemical weapons program despite the your p c w n twenty sixteen vouching that the stockpile had been destroyed something in a process overseen by russia and the un as well as a however the spokeswoman for the russian foreign ministry she said that basically if france knew that all along four years why hold back the information why come forward with it only now so many years later for donald trump in his first tweet after the attack he thanked u.s. allies and said the results couldn't have been better he called the strikes perfectly executed despite syrian and russian military saying that most of the missiles have been intercepted by defense systems. well

chapter of the un security council. week call yesterday and every time one we observed increasing tensions in this chamber to act responsibly in accordance with the u.n. charter and international law. who else is not the councilmembers to show to the world an example of compliance to the principles and provisions of the council. we are teaching others to safely follow international law and order and 70 yesterday we witnessed something different. action taken under what pretext cannot and will not justify military use of force, violence against violence would never bring peace and stability. our position has always been and continues to be that military action is a last resort to be used in last resort. there was no approval of this council of the military strikes that took place yesterday. humanity hopes that the 21st century would hold an era of global cooperation, our world is once again in danger and the reasons cannot be underestimated. the threat is a very war on a global scale. we are now on the edge of a new cold

chapter of the un security council. yesterday and every time one we observed increasing tensions in this chamber to act responsibly in accordance with the u.n. charter and international law. who else is not the councilmembers to show to the world an example of compliance to the principles and provisions of the council. we are teaching others to safely follow international law and order and 70 yesterday we witnessed something different. pretextaken under what cannot and will not justify military use of force, violence against violence would never bring peace and stability. our position has always been and continues to be that military action is a last resort to be resort.last there was no approval of this council of the military strikes that took place yesterday. humanity hopes that the 21st century would hold an era of global cooperation, our world is once again in danger and the reasons cannot be underestimated. the threat is a very war on a global scale. we are now on the edge of a new cold war which could have conseq

would refer back to the security council of the security council would then take a decision and vote on it a divided security council very difficult for the council to agree on attribute responsibility in this type of case so this is the important difference between the body that the u.s. is proposing in this coming resolution and the existing functions of the united nations and international protocols for controlling the use of chemical weapons all of that being said we are very likely to get a russian veto in this vote as there has been on numerous votes on syria in the past in fact if russia does veto this resolution it would be the twelfth such veto by russia since the war began in syria just to be absolutely clear about this without. i have two resolutions being voted on today one from the u.s. one from russia and the key difference between them is whether any forthcoming inquiry ascribes responsibility for what took place in duma. well complicated even further for him marry him and there might actually be three solutions voted on today we've got the u.s. resolution russia has i

security council do anything. well yes can it focus world attention the the our youth of the whole world are on this. earth mentioned if. by some miracle. the resolution is passed providing for the investigation then the power of the united nations will be demonstrated because that will act as a brake on any. u.s. action with regard actually to the realities of what happened i'm personally convinced that what happened with a fake flag operation that there was no attack quite with the image of that with being now would be thought to fabricate. ludicrous that we should be on the point of armageddon. image you which to form of certainly been concocted. many thanks peter always appreciate your time and your forthright opinions peter ford my guest former you can blast the two syria and bahrain. so hungry now are the prime minister celebrating a massive general election victory his ruling coalition secured a two thirds majority in parliament with a record turnout more seventy percent addressing supporters viktor orban s

security council where the mechanic the syrian ambassador and you're from jeffrey is pressing the security council on this special session to be. addressing the tension especially in syria let's get over to michaela has been listening in obviously we're getting. a defensive posture of the syrian ambassador and also a bit of a history lesson but he seems to be goading the comments made by the swedish ambassador and certainly the american want to. indeed yes we've heard this before from the syrian ambassador being speaking here in this meeting by special dispensation a rule which does a lot concern nations to take their place in the security council when such discussions are happening and certainly very contentious note from the ambassador as you say goading the u.s. and its allies sweden in particular at this particular point this is once again something that we have seen repeatedly within the council as we've seen in the course of the session today very much a reflection of what's been happening for chile day after day for the past week this is the fourth special session on syria that has

security united nations secretary general also hinted that the security council should have been asked first but abstained from open criticism of the united states and its allies you worked for the united nations for a while does it bother you that a united nations security council is kind of be sidelined not asked not refer to. well it's express on time you know during the strongest controlling good spot of it because this is the will of the members of the security council thank god sometimes it can be balanced by. some principles inside the security council but for shorter you know what facing one of the worst guys is not going to find a way i don't know how it's going to happen is it through the security council or do we need much more than security council when i see no proposal the last proposal of the french president to to make some contact is it going to be an international conference or will that about to you know everything coming up in a month while we need first is a political will of all parties you know toward is all this question to. the syrian people living so this stri

security council resolution against the syrian regime and so the u.s. and france and britain veto this resolution. the u.n. security council have not been able to act, it is a forum for people to kind of gripe at one another and nothing stops. i think you will hear nikki haley talks about the horrible situation and why the international community felt it would need to act. there will be a lot of hand ringing and name calling. i don't think you will see any type of new strategies. the u.n. council will be tactlkg about what's next and speaking to diplomat there is a real general way genuine desire to start a real process to end this civil war and to that supporting the u.n. envoy, there is a lot of talk of the so-called geneva process but it has for years have not gone anywhere. how do you end this? even if these strikes end and chemical weapons, we don't think they will. the syrians have plenty of ways to attack their sif ycivilians. >> ambassador nikki haley is speaking right now. this is our fifth council meeting in the past week to address the situat

and thirteen the security council passed a resolution that required the assad regime to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons syria committed to abide by the chemical weapons convention meaning it could no longer have chemical weapons on its soil president putin said russia would guarantee that syria complied we hoped that this diplomacy would succeed in putting an end to the horror of chemical attacks in syria but as we see from the past year that did not happen while russia was busy protecting the regime aside took notice the regime knew it could act with impunity and it did. in november russia used its veto to kill the joint investigative mechanism the main tool we had to figure out who used chemical weapons in syria just as russia was using its veto the assad regime used seran leading to dozens of injuries and deaths. russia's veto was the green light for the assad regime to use these most barbaric weapons against the syrian people in complete violation of international law the united states and our allies were not going to let that stand chemical weapons are a threat to us

council as far as the security council is concerned well they'll decide upon that to swedish proposal and they'll also decide whether to further the u.s. intent to create a more permanent investigative mechanism to find some kind of accountability for cyclists going to have to stop you there and let's have a listen in there that gentleman in a sense their staff and in the sewer the u.n. special envoy to syria he's sucking at united nations let's listen. and of course the gravity of events in region the inferior end of the video consequent three four three billion and dig in a moment of increased international danger and drawing in national regional international arc to earth into a dangerous situation of but then cure or actual confrontation. it is an important thinker at the council session mr president there is an urgent need for this council to find a way to address this situation with unity and purpose how did we reach this point march so devastating violence in one half of its there who would that result in at least one thousand seven hundred people killed and injured in oppositi

he is updating the security council on the situation. there will be other procedures taking place including efforts to find a cease—fire which collapsed over the weekend and is the immediate events preceding the air strike. it is claimed that the air strike. it is claimed that the air strike was the method used to deliver chemical weapons. 0h strike was the method used to deliver chemical weapons. oh well as his address, the you're its representatives are being called on to give an opportunity to take part. that cross two main work and joining me now via webcam is the former us ambassador to syria, robert ford. thank you for being with us on bbc news. let me ask you the obvious question that arises. what should the united states and its allies do now that they have not done before? well i think your correspondent was correct to say there's not much united states or his close allies can do to remove bashar al—assad from power now. it's a separate issue as to whether or not the united states and its allies should allow the syrian gover

chapter of the un security council. every time we observed increasing tensions in this chamber to act responsibly in accordance with the u.n. charter and international law. who else is not the council members should show to the world an example of compliance to the principles and provisions of the council. we are teaching others to safely follow international law and sadly yesterday we witnessed a different example. action taken under what pretext cannot and will not justify military use of force, violence against violence would never bring peace and stability. our position has always been and continues to be that military action is a last resort to be used in last resort. there was no approval of this council of the military strikes that took place yesterday. humanity hopes that the 21st century would hold an era of global cooperation, our world is once again in danger and the risks cannot be underestimated. the threat is a deadly war on a global scale. we are now on the edge of a new cold war which could have deadly c

of the security council resolution. and escalation could arise from ghouda asn beyond well. arisen from an air base early this morning. no country has claimed responsibility. explicitlystates has denied involvement. the syrian government, the russian federation, and yvonne has suggested that israel could carry out the attack, with the israeli state media -- with the iranian state media reporting military advisers have been killed and injured. nations is unable to verify responsibility for these showks, but parties must the utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation or confrontation. we have also received confirmation from northern areas of syria that all have expressed to us their own fears they may soon face similar escalation to what we have seen in eastern ghouta. there are states involved in efforts to reinstate the areas.ion in these indications are the opposite at the moment. operation, the turkish government has indicated the potential for further operations in other areas of northern syria. military opera

yet another security council session on syria and yet another veto. the twelfth exercised by russia since the conflict began twelve members were in favor of a u.s. led proposal to set up an independent body that would investigate chemical attacks and identify perpetrators voters old reconstitute and similarly this is a moment of truth the vote that we are faced with today so i would call upon each of the members of the security council speaking on behalf of france to take proper stock of what is at stake here and to live up to their responsibilities and to the us vote in favor of the american draft resolution as the day was the council continue to splinter a russian proposal for an investigative mechanism fails to get the mind votes needed to pass the u.s. not even needing to veto and an explanation of how it differed in two ways from the u.s. led resolution the key point is our resolution guarantees that any investigations will truly be independent russia's resolution gives russia itself the chance to choose the investigators and then to assess the o

the security council into your adventures. we know what it is you do tell us that we are covering up for someone we know who did three we are in syria at the invitation of the legal government in order to combat international terrorism in line with the un charter what we call who who do you cover up you cover up the fighters and the terrorists. if you took the decision to carry out an illegal military adventure and i we do hope that you will come to your senses well then you will have to bear responsibility for it yourselves what you are trying to do is planting this resolution within the security council something that has been on the shelf for a long time ago in order to find a pretext it's not what you have stated that unequivocally several times stating that if that you were to counsel does not come up a decision you will make a decision of your honor why you did terminate lee tried to undermine the authority of the security council while pushing forward a resolution that we will not pass and many told you i told you about

this is our fifth security council in the past week to address the situation in syria. a week has gone by in which we have talked about the victims in duma. we have talked about the assad regime and its patrons, russia and ironic -- and iran. the time for talk ended last night. here today because three permanent members of the united nations security council acted. the united kingdom, france, and the united states acted. not as revenge, not as punishment, not as a symbolic show of force. deter the future use holdingcal weapons by the syrian regime responsible for its atrocities against humanity. a russian see that disinformation campaign is in full force this morning. russia's desperate attempts at deflection cannot change the facts. a large body of information indicates that the syrian regime used chemical weapons in duma on april 7. there is clear information demonstrating assad's culpability. the pictures of dead children were not fake news. they were the result of the syrian regimes are correct inhumanity and the result of the failure torussia's live up to their int

it is unworthy for a permanent member of the united nations security council. this status is the highest degree of responsibility. and not the right to favor battle which is absent in international law. to plungeu seeking the middle east into such difficulties provoking one conflict after another. picking one state against another. benefit from a potential strike against syrian troops who bear the main burden and theying terrorism have achieved major victories in this regard. we understand fully well that the heads of the armed groups have received instruction to following a potential act of force. is the latest chaos truly being unleased for the sake of that? the pretext is that the alleged use of chemical substances in the syrian city of duma, there is no credible confirmation of this. tracescialists found no of toxic substance use. know ofdents of duma no such attack. all the information has been provided by the antigovernment groups. we have justification to believe , and we even have information to believe that what took place is the provocation and partic

as for security council resolution 24-01. an immediate cease-fire is needed so that humanitarian and medical aid can reach the victims of this attack. it should be enabled to continue the life-saving work. women this to the men, and children. we owe this to our own citizens. the kingdom of the netherlands recalls of the majority of the member states count on a members of this counsel not to use their veto in case of mass atrocities. international community should be able to count upon this counsel to uphold international human tender in law and to uphold international provision of the use of chemical weapons. and to act when international law is trampled upon. let me be clear -- we support the humanitarian work of the white helmets. they do extremely important humanitarian work for the civilians in syria in dire circumstances. this brings me to my third point, accountability. all members in this council regularly stressed the need for a cabability for perpetrators are used chemical weapons. yet, this council has not been able

you undermined the authority of the security council. asa authority of the security council. as a pretext, you mentioned the use of chemical weapons in the syrian city of douma. representatives of russia, after an inspection by our experts, stated no such incident took place. furthermore, people took pa rt took place. furthermore, people took part in this staging and, in fact, the organisers of that staging were foreign intelligence services. the syrian authorities immediately invited experts from the 0rganisation invited experts from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons to conduct field mission to douma to establish the fa cts . mission to douma to establish the facts. these formalities were resolved and guarantees of security we re resolved and guarantees of security were provided. at that time strikes we re were provided. at that time strikes were conducted experts were already in syria and getting ready to begin the work. i want to recall the members of the security council and eve ryo ne members of the security council and everyone else on the 10th of

council or do we need much more than security council when i see new proposal the last proposal of the french president to to make some contact is it going to be an international conference or will that about to you know everything come happen what do we need first is a political will of his you know toward is all this question and. the syrian people living so this strikes were not extensive or particularly damaging were they undertaken more for the home audience or so they participant contrarious than to actually solve problems inside syria. well there were always and explore short but strikes one of them. so. the president you know it's going to go as i say the anywhere i. go i think to do the open to want to go in in the coming weeks so for sure for sure the goodwill from older parties and when i say all parties include everybody locally these are live and internationally because out without him living with lots of conflicting does when you're going to situation say that to the rest of the middle is to the problem between so do you. now the american president is that i and you know

security council and at the heart of this. serious disagreements over this is back to the chemical attack in the syrian town of doom and now obviously western military strikes have been carried out but we are still waiting for the o.p.c. w. to complete its investigation like what happens after that. well i must mention too that russia was particularly vehement in its anger about the fact that these strikes were carried out before the international chemical weapons watchdog actually finished its investigation as you mentioned the team is in damascus it has arrived in damascus it will be traveling to the area in which this chemical weapons attack allegedly took place it will carry out investigation to ascertain whether or not such a attack took place at all now the timeline on that well that's a little bit like a piece of string the chemical weapons experts expected will take at least two weeks after collecting samples to be able to establish what kind of gases or poisons were used in the alleged attack if indeed they were used

this aggression is a flagrant violation of security council 1974 andn 350 of security council resolution on counterterrorism. this aggression would not have occurred what not for the unlimited and consistent support of the american administration to israel. the american administration guarantees immunity said that accountable. held this allows israel to continue to practice state terrorism and threaten peace and security in the region and in the world. of course, western countries did israelir even to the aggression in their statements. that means that they are complicit and they support aggression. unfortunately, my dear friend did not listen and say it is israel that launched this when he said united nations is not able to verify the identity of the perpetrators of this aggression. benjamin not yahoo! himself said that -- benjamin netanyahu himself said that he launched this aggression. why didn't you explicitly say israel is to blame for this aggression? ais israeli aggression is response to the successes of the syrian arab army. the army succeeded in -- from others syrian territories

, you need to get the majority of the security council. three of the five veto holding powers have taken action on this occasion. there seems to be some stumbling in syria, this isa to be some stumbling in syria, this is a reflection of what is going on in the ground. how far do you think that the british decision was motivated by what happened in salisbury, the british city where the former russian agent and his daughter were poisoned, the skripals. the statement referred to norms of behaviour. that is part of it, although not thejustification for taking action against the syrian regime. there is a concern that the norms around the use of chemical weapons is diluting and it was important for the western allies that they will not stand back and ignore this. it is a factor in the british decision but i don't think they will actually link action of this site. the war of words preceding last night's action was very u nfortu nate preceding last night's action was very unfortunate and one would hope for in the next few days is a tempering of th

security council security council meeting continues with the main topic of discussion being syria. following the liberation of duma from fighters. russian specialists were sent their specialist on radiological chemical and biological protection to collect evidence and information they took soil samples which they which show the lack of nerve agent and chlorine containing substances that locals were or were were interviewed about the sation of resistance to the fighters. not a single local resident confirmed the chemical attack having taken place the bodies of the dead as a result of contamination were not found. medical personnel and residents. have no information about their potential areas there by the use of sour and chlorine is not confirmed. or u.s. correspond caleb moore has been following events he's based in new york for a scaly pretty strong stuff there from the russian representative who saying no chemicals no victims no witnesses what else has been said. well the meeting was called and as the meeting was convened in the u.n. security council chamber we heard some extensi

the security council has met 113 at times since the syrian war started. it was therefore not for want of international diplomatic effort that we find ourselves in this position today. after a pattern of chemical weapons use since the outbreak of the conflict, assad divide the international community in 2013 by launching a sarin gas attack on eastern ghouta, leaving more than 800 people dead. despite the option of resolution 2118 and four years a patient engagement, syria continues to use chemical weapons against its people and has failed to and is a long list of serious questions. the only conclusion we can reach a syria had not declared or destroyed all of its chemical weapons, despite its obligations under the chemical weapons convention. this is not an assertion on our part, but a matter of record, and i draw the russian ambassador's attention to his points. the 0pcw‘s unanswered questions and discrepancies. he knows this, we all know this, the council was briefed by the 0pcw director—general. resolution 2118 decides in the event of noncompliance t

well not within her speech in the assembly to in the security council today however in the security council yesterday she said similar speech to what she done but at the end she said that the united states is going to act regardless of whether the security council passes a resolution or not she made very clear that some kind of action was being contemplated by the u.s. unilateral action we've also seen intense discussions with some of the other security council and eyes of the u.s. that britain france and they have been intense and as conversations going on around various parts of the security council chamber so there is a possibility of some kind of unilateral action by the u.s. not just the u.s. perhaps including some of its allies but one must remember as well that this is precisely the argument given by the russian ambassador in opposing the u.s. led resolution saying that it was in effect means to an end to track the veto and then to use as an excuse to carry out some kind of military operation so as with all things in the u.n. security council particularly when the parties are so divi

security council set for 11 a.m. eastern time and we are also on top of a closed door nato meeting going on as we speak in brussels on those air strikes. we'll be getting a live nato briefing from that when it lets up, to kevin cork with the latest from the white house right now hi, kevin. reporter: hi my friend, listen this is very interesting times not just with this white house, but more broadly for u.s. foreign policy, as not just the u.s. and its allies but the world against us, neil with one voice, which is you can not let a madman continue to use chemical weapons to hurt his own people and that is what the president has basically said about those targeted strikes. let me take you to twitter his favorite social media platform he said it perfectly executed strike last night thank you to france and the united kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine military. he goes on to say this, could not have had a better result, mission accomplished. of course last night the president said the coalition had mars

security council this bring the pictures and the sound as well if we can. nobody is lacking for lighting mission to without delay meet the site of the supposed to event not who we welcome the decision on who made for the general director of the technical secretariat of office of w. to send them to separate you noted to carry out investigative work in line with its c w c standards and you were taken to county data. and provided by the the state safety access guarantees provide the syrian authorities and the russian military in fifteen days time the secretary general would but would to submit it first that first reports to the security council this is a strictly practical non-problem confrontational and de politicize initiative in support of a p c w which would have helped to the determination by specialists in this area of what took place or rather did not take place in duma yet like of and this is the priority now or you might not derive there then the resolution on uni me to which was hastily introduced for voting with it obviously a goal to says see how b

thought the security council has obviously been deadlocked on this issue for days that is why it is right for the u.s. france and britain to have taken well considered measures. i was notified last night by my american and french colleagues who are leading on the front line of conservation calling on tallish that. i'm dizzy stepchild in light of assad's horrific use of chemical weapons the steps taken by these three security council members against assad's chemical weapons programs proportionate necessary. i'm joined now by d w chief political correspondent melinda crane melinda thanks for joining us let's talk about the german position they have said that they will not join their allies in militarily intervening but what's the german position and why has berlin decided to do this the chancellor didn't provide a list of reasons but essentially this is the traditional german position when it comes to the use of military force particularly in so-called out of area missions missions beyond nato territory germany because of its history in the twentieth century as the initiator of world war tw

my important security council session. my government shares the operators other colleagues have eloquently describes today. it is truly horrific to think of victims families sheltering underground when the chlorine found them. mr president, it's the third time in five days that the council has convened to discuss chemical weapons. this is dreadful in the true sense of that word. the council should dread what we risk happening and that chemical weapons become a routine part of fighting. as a member of the p5 routine part of fighting. as a member of the ps the uk believes that we have a particular responsibility to uphold the worldwide prohibition of the use of wmds. we agree with the netherlands ambassador that the p5 has specific responsibilities. i believe that four members of the p5 to believe this but there is one who does not. the russian ambassador referred to a resurgence of the cold war. this is not the cold war mr president. in the cold war there was not this flag ra nt the cold war there was not this flagrant disr

security council meeting has failed to adopt a course of action. it's hard to guess clearly some people in the administration troubled ministration would like to take military action they see what happened in new york is preparatory to that but there are divisions in washington partly because there is a recognition why brecht mission that limited military strikes a year ago didn't change anything universally think about what happened who is responsible for the strikes ordered by trump a year ago didn't change the equation also there is the question of congressional authorization for the use of military force one of the congress not the president is supposed to decide when the us uses military force let's create a soup for both democratic and republican voices in the house in the senate saying a president trump want to use military force he has to come to congress for us for authorization so that's another question and that's has been resolved we heard just a few days ago president trump saying that he wanted to get out of syria now he. is contempla

council or do we need much more than security council when i see no proposal the last proposal of the french president you know to make some contact is it going to be an international conference or will that about to you know everything come happen what do we need first is a political will of all parties you know toward is all those questions and. the syrian people living so this strikes were not extensive or particularly damaging were they undertaken more for their home audiences so they participant contrarious than to actually solve problems inside syria. well there were always and explore short but strikes one of them. so. the president you know it's going to go as i say the anyway. i think to do the open to want to go in in the coming weeks so for sure for sure a good will from older parties and when i say all parties include everybody locally in these intimate and internationally because out with him living with a lot of conflicting undoes when you're going to situation see that to the rest of the middle east to the problem between so do. american presidents is that i am going to

council but of all security. issues they have to go through the security council any issues of importance in the security area and therefore you have the you have the potential for if then he went on the five great powers disagrees this case russia and china disagree with the rest of them and therefore action is the problem is i think in this case if you don't investigate it there's probably going to be in it some sort of attack from the western countries that at least britain u.s. and that france would. so the as we understand the o.p.c. to the members they are going to go in they are going to investigate do you think washington will hold off because they must know if they just hold tight for if for whatever a few days maybe a week it and how long this investigation will take they will be better informed surely at that point than they are now but will will be us hold off. well there i don't know that's. we don't know that because trump is very impulsive and that sort of thing and now we the united states tends t

security council to do on this matter. well the security council is still continuing its in consultations at the moment russia wanted to bring a second proposal basically backing the fact finding mission off the o.p.c. w sweden objected to saying it does not want this brought to the vote so members are now cloistered in a procedural session some members trying to persuade russia not to bring this to the vote a number of members absolutely insistent that there is no need for such a resolution as the fact finding mission of the o.p.c. w. is already beginning its work it doesn't need any resolution to allow it to go forward so here you have wrangling continuing even on procedural issues within the council where does it go in terms of finding some kind of body that can examine chemical attacks and that can apportion accountability well that question is completely unclear what is clear though is that the security council as president constituted is incapable because of the political divisions within it of actually pushing throu

council we bear the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security base through the relevant channels we already convey to the u.s. armed force under mendacious pretext against syria where at the request of the legitimate government of a country russian troops have been deployed could lead to grave repercussions we call upon western politicians to scale down their hawkish rhetoric to meaningfully consider possible repercussions and to seize the reckless spill over of threats to global security what a military misadventures of the west to bring about are well known to us if we consider the examples of yugoslavia iraq and libya and nobody has a vested with the power to act as act as john d'armes as a policeman of the world at the same time to act both as investigators proxy raters judges and executioners. we call for you return to the legal fold to comply with the u.n. charter and to jointly tackle problems that arise rather than attempting at each step to advance your egotistical geo political game so all of the energy needs to be focused on support for th

security council meeting and then because it obviously concerns the u.k. the u.k. will be the second speaker of the security council meeting which we're expecting to get underway in the next few minutes as a short statement on burundi first but we'll expect in the next few minutes and you say you've been talking to some of the members some even questioning why they're there is that because they're not really saying any conclusive evidence either way and it really is seeming like a lot of hot air. well i think most of them and i just was listening to the swedish ambassador a short time ago as he was arriving at security council he said i don't know why we're having this meeting the o.p.c. w. is investigating the british authorities are investigating nothing new has happened why is the meeting being called the british ambassador was a bit more forthright she said she thought this meeting was simply being called as part of a russian campaign that they're starting right now to discredit the o.p.c. w the security council is now in session but as a say they'll b

to the security council for for the u.s. . really stating her case as a country's case against russia let's bring in kimberly how could on this a very methodical approach to stating the united states' position on chemical weapons and also trying to show very clear how russia should have upheld it and of the bargain. right to things that are really coming out of the u.n. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations nikki haley's comet there just now that struck me the first is that it's very clear that the united states is making a very hard case for why there needs to be international consensus an international coalition backing any sort of u.s. led military response to the suspected chemical attack and duma so that's the first thing to take away from there the other thing is that what we clearly saw there was a war of words going on between the united states and russia you heard very strong condemnation and language pointing the finger at russia by nikki haley there but you also heard from the russian federation equally strong w

council and so now three of the police officers in the security council have taken matters into their own hands and that can have repercussions for the entire international system and how conflicts and how international interventions how forced interventions are run and we were just talking about the long term plan in syria for the united states and alexandra mentioned that perhaps there isn't one as of right now or at least not one that we know is there a common european strategy in place for the issue when it comes to syria. there's a key interest on the part of europeans be it in nato be it in the european union and that is to find a political solution there everyone here is on the same page when it comes to maybe a single military strike like this one will help to prevent the future use of only chemical weapons as such but we have sort of seen the carpet bombings we have seen the use of cluster bombs of barrel bombs and in order to find a solution to end this horrific wall there is now there may be the new impetus here on the part of european forces at least that is the effort we

security council and in fact they've said that. the russians calling emergency meeting of the council as early as later today they've also addressed something that france had to say world justifying its pretty is a patient in the strikes france had said that basically it had intelligence information that since twenty thirteen the syrian government were pursuing the secret chemical weapons program despite the your p c w n twenty sixteen vouching that the stockpile had been destroyed something in a process overseen by russia and the un as well as a however the spokeswoman for the russian foreign ministry she said that basically if france knew that all along for years why hold back the information why come forward with it only now so many years later. eventually o.p.c. w last hour confirming it's going to go ahead with that mission in doom and we can talk now to a former senior official at the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons to travel into r.t. first ask you about what corresponded was mentioning that the french d

security council votes against a draft russian resolution that would have condemned the allied action. meanwhile the u.s. military says the strikes will set syria's chemical weapons program back years and in our other top story. tens of thousands of south africans but when the medic is irrelevant dead or farewell at a state funeral in some way to. the u.n. security council has voted against a resolution to condemn the overnight military strikes by the u.s. u.k. and france against the syrian government is the most significant attack against president bashar al assad and the first coordinated retaliation for last saturday's suspected chemical attack on duma washington and its closest allies launched more than one hundred missiles targeting a scientific research facility in damascus and two chemical weapons storage facilities near homes one was also a military command center syria says it shot down thirteen incoming missiles over damascus on its ally russia says syrian forces intercepted seventy one cruise missiles throughout the country u.s. president donald trump has praised the strike

military should be approved according to the security council. resolution for sure and just as well use the word complexities it shows the complexity is what they're going to because it's going to be everyone is challenging the. you know we know when we can begin a wall but we don't know when he is going to and i was going to develop so you have the u.n. security united nations secretary general also hinted that the security council should have been asked first but abstained from open criticism of the united states and its allies you worked for the united nations for a while does it bother you that a. united nations security council is kind of being sidelined not asked not refer to. well it's express on time you know the will of the strongest the controlling it's part of it because this is the will of the members of the security council thank god sometimes it can be balanced by. some principles inside the security council but for shorter you know what facing one of the worst guys is not going to get it to find a way i don't know how it's going to

security council. chemical weapons didn't produce the most casualties in world war one but they were the most feared in world war two chemical weapons were employed on an industrial scale against civilians resulting in the worst genocide in human history which we recalled just yesterday on holocaust remembrance day now it's important to note that following russia and the united states we also heard from the representative of the people's republic of china and china urged the world to respect syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty as a country now at this point the meeting is continuing various countries are speaking of the syrian government is expected to speak as u.n. rules allow them to speak as you know potential resolutions on the topic of the meeting is in relation to syria so all eyes are on the security council people are wondering what will happen next as so many questions continue to be raised about the allegations related to chemical weapons in the city of duma ok we'll let you get bac

security council meeting will be beginning and at this u.n. security council meeting there will be two resolutions regarding the o.p.c. w. investigation into the use of chemical weapons in syria now the first resolution that will be put forward comes from the united states from russia the first resolution put forward does come from russia and this will require mandatory on site visits so they must visit the site where the alleged attack took place and it requires not assigning blame that will be the focus of the o.p.c. debby's work but rather it will be giving conclusions in an overall assessment of what took place to the council now the u.s. resolution that's been put forward it calls for identifying the perpetrators and it says the. visiting the site should only be done if it's justified but it's not exactly clear what that means justify but they're not they're not saying that it be mandatory that the weapons inspectors and chemical experts actually visit the sites where this alleged attack took place now we also understand at the upcoming m

the security council into your adventures. we know what it is you do tell us that we are covering up for someone who says we are in syria at the invitation of the legal government in order to combat international terrorism in line with the un charter we go who-o. who do you cover up you cover up they are the fighters and the terrorists. if you took the decision to carry out an illegal military adventure and i we do hope that you will come to your senses well then you will have to bear responsibility for it yourselves what you are trying to do is planting this resolution within the security council something that has been on the shelf for a long time ago in order to find a pretext. you have stated that unequivocally several times stating that if that your the council does not come up a decision you will make a decision of your own why you did terminate lee tried to undermine the authority of the security council while pushing forward a resolution that we will not pass and many told you up till two about this yesterday during th

security council both sides called for new inquiries but a u.s. plan to assign blame was rejected by moscow rescue workers they dozens of people died as a suspected chemical attack in the town of duma on saturday mike hanna reports from the united nations. yet another security council session on syria and yet another veto. the twelfth exercised by russia since the conflict began twelve members were in favor of a u.s. led proposal to set up an independent body that would investigate chemical attacks and identify perpetrators voters old reconstitute and similar markley this is a moment of truth a vote that we are faced with today so i would call upon each of the members of the security council speaking on behalf of france to take proper stock of what is at stake here and to live up to their responsibilities and to the us vote in favor of the american draft resolution as the day was the council continue to splinter a russian proposal for an investigative mechanism fails to get the nine votes needed to pass the u.s. not even needing to veto and an exp

but the president the members of the security council. resent development carry more than ever before the danger of the general warned about recently at the munich security conference he spoke of middle east of quote unquote different fault lines that are completely crossing each other and interconnected of conflicting interests they're both global and regional power and formed of a scale lesion that can have absolutely devastating consequences of that is difficult for us to even imagine. they can still cannot allow a situation of uncontrollable it's got lesion to develop in theory or on any project instead in must find unity and address the concrete threat to international peace and security in thea today thank you mr president i'm sorry to have been short but for good thing on one specific concern the threat to international security related to what we have thing now interior and on the danger of repetition of the alleged. chemical weapons attacks. next time i would be able to give you a briefing about humanitarian issues about our ther

security council meeting russia's resolution on the investigation of ceres alleged chemical attack falls short of the required majority america's counter proposal is in turn vetoed by moscow which accuses washington of pretty lucky since to conduct an independent probe. you have already appointed the guilty party you don't want to hear anything you don't want any investigation. of. the. violent standoff continues between police and environmentalists for a second day in france barricades have been burned while officers fired tear gas. discharged from hospital following last month's nerve agent attack exceeding doctors' initial assessments that she might never recover. thanks for joining us is a busy news hour here on r.t. international monitors neil harvey at an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council both americas and russia's resolutions on a mechanism to investigate syria's alleged chemical attack did not get passed washington's resolution was vetoed by moscow russia fell short of the required majority let's go stateside now kelly more pin falling proceedings in new york it's be

security council meets to discuss the strikes. but neither president assad supporters put on a show of defiance in damascus while state t.v. shows him walking calmly into work. and tens of thousands cheer and cry as they bid farewell to winnie muddy mandela at a state funeral in so wet. u.s. president donald trump has praised american british and french missile strikes against the syrian government as perfectly executed and mission accomplished it's the most significant attack against president bashar assad and the first coordinated retaliation the last saturday suspected chemical attack on duma washington and its closest allies launched more than one hundred missiles targeting a scientific research facility in damascus and to chemical weapons storage facilities in their homes one that was also a military command center syria says it shot down thirteen incoming missiles over damascus while its ally russia says syrian forces intercepted seventy one cruise missiles throughout the country the strikes are currently being discussed yet