United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blasted the Bashar al-Assad regime and Russia on Wednesday for their attacks on civilians in Syria, while encouraging the U.N. to become "serious about peace" on the war-torn country.
At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Haley said Russia was "isolating" itself with its assistance of the Assad regime, which has used chemical weapons on Syrian civilians. The Council was debating a resolution condemning the Assad regime for the attack.
Haley spoke directly to the Russians and criticized their support of Assad.
"To my colleagues from Russia, you are isolating yourselves from the international community every time one of Assad's planes drop another barrel bomb on civilians and every time Assad tries to starve another community to death," Haley said. "People, not just in the West, but across the Middle East and the world, are speaking out against Assad's brutality."
"It is long past time for Russia to stop covering for Assad," Haley continued. "It is long past time for Russia to push seriously for peace and not continue to be part of the problem."
Haley also said that the Security Council needs to do more to end the fighting in Syria if it wishes to retain credibility.
"This council needs to be serious about peace in Syria too," Haley said. "Month after month we all repeat the same points in this chamber. We all say there is no military solution to this conflict, but look at what actually happens on the ground.
"This council's relevance depends on taking action to condemn those responsible for violence and to hold them accountable for defying this council's demands. This council should not just say it's for a political solution, but also actively pressure the parties to prove it. that means adopting resolutions that say what we mean, resolutions that we are all willing to uphold."