Russia says it has vetoed a draft French UN Security Council resolution on Syria because it was "politicized and one-sided."
The resolution calling for an end to air strikes on the besieged northern city of Aleppo and military overflights was vetoed on October 8, while a Russian-drafted alternative text failed to garner the minimum of nine votes needed for adoption by the 15-member council.
In an October 9 statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the French text would have provided "cover for the terrorists of Jabhat Al-Nusra and associated militants."
Hundreds of civilians have been killed by Russian and Syrian government air strikes in rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo since a U.S. and Russia-brokered cease-fire broke down on September 19.