WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United State said on Tuesday it was "disappointed" at Russia's veto of a UN Security Council draft resolution on the extension of the mandate of an independent investigation mechanism, which was tasked to determine who was responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
"We are very disappointed that Russia put what it considered to be political considerations over the Syrian people," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert at a daily briefing.
The draft resolution sponsored by the United States sought to extend the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for another year.
Among the 15 members of the Security Council, Russia and Bolivia voted against the measure. China and Kazakhstan abstained, and 11 countries voted to extend.
Russia had indicated that it would veto that measure, Nauert noted at the briefing.
Prior to the vote, Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, proposed a postponement till Nov. 7, arguing that the extension of JIM's mandate should be discussed after the publication of its report, which is only two days away.
He told the council that a hasty vote was intended to "dishonor" Russia.
As Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, its "no" vote means that the draft resolution was rejected.
