Bashar Ja'afari(front), Syria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations,is pictured prior to a Security Council meeting on Syria at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Oct. 8, 2016. Two opposing draft resolutions: one French-Spanish version and the other by Russia, on Saturday failed to be approved by the UN Security Council in response to the current situation in Syria.(Xinhua Photo)
CAIRO, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egypt supports all efforts that seek to halt the tragedy of the Syrian people and urges for a political settlement to end the Syrian crisis, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
Egypt voted on Saturday for two opposing draft resolutions: a French-Spanish version and the other by Russia, for a relief in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, yet both failed to be approved by the UN Security Council.
"Egypt supports all efforts seeking to halt the tragedy of the Syrian people, and so it voted for both resolutions based on their contents, not on political bids that have already become a barrier to the work of the council," said Ambassador Amr Aboul-Ata, Egypt's representative to the UN.
The first one, drafted by France and Spain, was vetoed by Russia, a permanent council member, while the Moscow-sponsored draft failed to gain nine votes in favor, the minimum of supporting votes required for a draft to be adopted by the 15-nation UN council, instead gaining nine votes against.
"The main reason for the failure of the two draft resolutions is attributed to the disagreements between the permanent council members," the Egyptian ambassador continued, regretting the council's inability to make active decisions to relieve the sufferings of the Syrian people and eliminate terrorism in the war-torn country.
The official called on all international and regional powers as well as the domestic forces in Syria to avoid conflict, sectarian strife and political greed to rescue the Syrian people from their daily sufferings.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi urged at the UN Security Council earlier in September for "a united vision for a comprehensive political settlement to the crisis in Syria.
Since it erupted in March 2011, the Syrian crisis has claimed the lives of about 500,000 people and displaced more than 10 million.
