U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice on Thursday condemned China and Russia for their veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution that threatened sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying they prevented a peaceful solution.
“Today’s action by the Russians and the Chinese puts a punctuation mark on their refusal to allow the Security Council to play an effective role in trying to stop the violence there” Rice said of the third veto by Russia and China over Syria resolutions.
The resolution would have continued the U.N. observer mission in Syria and threatened future sanctions against Assad’s government if violence continued.
In an interview with MSNBC’s "Andrea Mitchell Reports," Rice said that despite Thursday’s vote, the United States will continue to play a role in Syria, adding that the best outcome is “for there to be a peaceful political transition ... that can lead to a democratic dispensation for the people of Syria.”
Some in Congress, however, have called for more action than Rice was willing to commit, in the form of aiding “the peaceful opposition in Syria and to provide non-lethal support to the military opposition.”
In prepared remarks released Wednesday for a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “Assad’s increasing reliance on helicopter gunships is giving new impetus to calls for a no-fly zone.”
When asked to respond Rice said that implementing one would require a high-level of commitment on the part of the United States and other countries.
“It would require putting boots on the ground and significant international forces. And I think that one should not underestimate the complexity of that, the danger of that," she said, adding that she still believes a peaceful solution is possible.
