LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday condemned Russia’s air campaign in Syria, saying it may be guilty of war crimes, and it vowed to impose more sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference following the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in the western state of Goa, India, October 16, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Druzhinin via REUTERS

Calling for an immediate ceasefire in rebel-held east Aleppo, the European Union’s 28 foreign ministers sought to show their anger at the Russian-backed campaign, which has killed several hundred people including dozens of children since the collapse of a truce brokered by Russia and the United States.

“Since the beginning of the offensive by the regime and its allies, notably Russia, the intensity and scale of the aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo is clearly disproportionate,” the EU said in a statement. Some 275,000 people are believed to be trapped in the area.

The bloc berated Moscow for “the deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, schools and essential infrastructure,” saying that targeting civilians with barrel bombs and chemical weapons “may amount to war crimes”.

The EU said the atrocities in Syria should be referred to the International Criminal Court, although it was unclear how or when.

It called for an immediate end to conflict, so a peace process could start after almost six years of war, seeking a wider role for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to talk to regional powers including Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

While the European Union has no military role in the conflict, the statement marked its harshest criticism of Russia’s role in Syria and came after days of negotiations and resistance from Russia’s allies in Europe.

It was Europe’s second attempt to isolate Russia diplomatically this month, after France and Spain led a push for a U.N.-backed ceasefire in New York, which Russia vetoed.

As food supplies run low in Aleppo, the scale of the destruction unleashed by the Syrian government’s Russian- and Iranian-backed offensive has horrified even Moscow’s long-time backers in Athens, Budapest and Nicosia, diplomats said.

Russia is Europe’s biggest energy supplier, and relations have sunk to lows not seen since the Cold War over the crisis in Ukraine. Some countries, including Austria and parts of the German government, worry about worsening ties even further.

But France and Britain pushed hard for the support of all the bloc’s 28 governments, hoping that a unified chastisement of Russia would help bring an end to the bombing since peace talks between Moscow and Washington broke down earlier this month.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the European Union had a moral obligation to act and “to stop the massacre of the population of Aleppo.”

A briefing by U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura at the meeting in Luxembourg appeared to help swing doubters.

De Mistura, who has been at the heart of peace efforts in Geneva, warned that Aleppo was at risk of being reduced to rubble. “Between now and December, if we don’t find a solution for Aleppo, Aleppo won’t be there anymore,” De Mistura said.

SANCTIONS, BUT NOT ON RUSSIA

The European Union also said it was ready to put more Syrians under travel bans and asset freezes, suspecting them of directing attacks on civilians in Aleppo. That is in addition to the EU’s existing sanctions list and its oil and arms embargo.

The EU has a list of 208 people and 69 companies under sanctions, and that was likely to grow to pressure the Assad government and those benefiting from it, diplomats said.

In their statement, EU foreign ministers said the EU will act “swiftly ... with the aim of imposing further restrictive measures against Syria, targeting Syrian individuals and entities supporting the regime as long as the repression continues.”

Britain has also raised the prospect of sanctions on Russians involved in the Syrian conflict, diplomats told Reuters although that had less support on Monday.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who held talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday in London, said London was considering imposing additional sanctions on Assad’s supporters, without naming Russia.

Spain would back Russian sanctions if they helped “bring Russia’s position closer to ours” acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said.

European Union leaders will discuss Russia and possibly talk about new sanctions at a summit on Thursday. Russia’s closest EU allies - Greece, Cyprus and Hungary - oppose such penalties.

Austria, a transit point for flows for Russian gas to Europe, also voiced its opposition on Monday.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (C) takes part in a meeting on the situation in Syria at Lancaster House in London October 16, 2016. REUTERS/JUSTIN TALLIS/Pool

“The idea to have additional sanctions against Russia would be wrong,” Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told reporters. “We do not need a further escalation,” he said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier rejected imposing more punitive measures on Russia, although a German newspaper cited sources saying that Chancellor Angela Merkel favoured the idea.

The West imposed broad economic sanctions on Moscow over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support for rebels in Ukraine. </s> Vladimir Putin has signed an order to have Russia withdrawn from the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid calls for his military to be referred over air strikes backing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the annexation of Crimea.

The President instructed Russia's foreign ministry to notify the United Nations of the country's refusal to be subject to the body's activity on Wednesday, following the same move by Gambia, South Africa and Burundi.

State media reported that the government was pulling out of the 2002 Rome Statute, which establishes the International Criminal Court's status and powers, although the Kremlin never ratified the agreement it signed in 2000.

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“The International Criminal Court has not justified hopes placed upon it and did not become a truly independent and authoritative judicial body,” a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry said.

A statement claimed that Russia "consistently advocates that people guilty of grave offences must be held accountable" and took part in developing laws against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Francois Hollande, the President of France, called suggested that Russia should face war crimes charges over its bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo last month.

“These are people who today are the victims of war crimes,” he told French television amid hundreds of reported civilian deaths.

“Those that commit these acts will have to face up to their responsibility, including in the ICC.”

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria 1/19 Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 2/19 Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP 3/19 Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty 4/19 Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP 5/19 Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 6/19 Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 7/19 A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 8/19 Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 9/19 Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 10/19 Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria 11/19 The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria 12/19 Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP 13/19 Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit 14/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 15/19 Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed 16/19 A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria 17/19 A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit 18/19 Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria 19/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 1/19 Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 2/19 Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP 3/19 Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty 4/19 Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP 5/19 Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 6/19 Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 7/19 A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 8/19 Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 9/19 Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 10/19 Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria 11/19 The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria 12/19 Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP 13/19 Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit 14/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 15/19 Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed 16/19 A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria 17/19 A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit 18/19 Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria 19/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

It was the latest call parties in the conflict to be prosecuted by the ICC, after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to refer the Assad regime in 2014.

Both Russian and Syria have denied deliberately killing civilians or breaking international law in the Syrian civil war, saying they are targeting terrorist groups.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued an appeal to all countries attempting to withdraw from the ICC on Wednesday.

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He said those making the attempt were seeking to “desert victims of the most abominable international crimes” and could not claim their action was based on principle.

“If the State Parties, who apparently have been masquerading in recent years as countries devoted to criminal accountability, want to leave, then they should leave,” Mr al-Hussein added.

“But we are not convinced their position is based entirely on principle. Quite the opposite: it appears to aim more at protecting their leaders from prosecution.”

The commissioner said there was “no substitute” for the ICC, which he hopes will be eventually accepted universally.

“By withdrawing from the Rome Statute, leaders may shield themselves with immunities – but it will be at the cost of depriving their people of the protection of a unique and essential institution,” he warned.

“We face a choice. We can safeguard our societies by standing firm on the principles of justice which anchor this institution.

“Or we can cast away the moorings of law laid down to save the world from horror – and turn away from the screams, as impunity overwhelms men, women and children in wave upon wave of violence.”

The ICC is intended to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst violations of international law - genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

But far only African defendants have been put on trial and a number of countries including the US, China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkey have not signed the treaty.

Like Russia - Egypt, Iran and Israel signed but failed to ratify the agreement, making it unlikely their governments could ever be prosecuted by the court. </s> People remove belongings from a damaged site after a Sunday air strike in the besieged, rebel-held Al Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Monday (Reuters photo)

LUXEMBOURG — The European Union on Monday strongly condemned Russia for the bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo, saying air strikes by Moscow and Damascus could amount to war crimes.

“Since the beginning of the offensive by the regime and its allies, notably Russia, the intensity and scale of the aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo is clearly disproportionate,” EU foreign ministers said in a statement after talks in Luxembourg.

“The deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, schools and essential infrastructure, as well as the use of barrel bombs, cluster bombs and chemical weapons, constitute a catastrophic escalation of the conflict... and may amount to war crimes,” they said.

The EU ministers said they would also press ahead with extending sanctions against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, but stopped short of threatening measures against Russia over the conflict.

The reference to war crimes is potentially significant since if pressed, a case could be taken to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The statement noted the EU’s “conviction that the situation in Syria should be referred to the ICC and renews its call to the UN Security Council to take action in this respect”.

Ministers also called urgently for an immediate ceasefire in Aleppo to allow humanitarian aid to reach the ancient frontline city, which has been pummelled mercilessly by Assad’s forces and then by his longtime Russian ally since September last year.

The EU “strongly condemns the excessive and disproportionate attacks by the regime and its allies”, it said.

As the EU statement was coming through, Moscow announced an eight-hour cessation of hostilities for Thursday, stealing the limelight in the diplomatic battle.

The EU ministers said the bloc “firmly believes that there can be no military solution to the conflict”, and called directly on Russia to agree a ceasefire to open the way to peace talks.

EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said earlier Monday that ministers could consider additional Syria sanctions, but ruled out imposing restrictive measures on Russia.

The statement made no reference to this possibility, although Britain and the United States had said in talks in London on Sunday that they should be considered. </s> UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia and the United States tangled on Tuesday at the United Nations over the use of chemical weapons in Syria as Washington and its allies considered whether to strike at President Bashar al-Assad’s forces over a suspected poison gas attack last weekend.

Moscow and Washington halted attempts by each other in the U.N. Security Council to set up international investigations into chemical weapons attacks in Syria, which is in the throes of a seven-year-old civil war.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Western allies are discussing possible military action to punish Assad for a suspected poison gas attack on Saturday on a rebel-held town that long had held out against government forces.

Trump on Tuesday canceled a planned trip to Latin America later this week to focus instead on responding to the Syria incident, the White House said. Trump had on Monday warned of a quick, forceful response once responsibility for the Syria attack was established.

Pan-European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol warned airlines to exercise caution in the eastern Mediterranean due to the possible launch of air strikes into Syria in next 72 hours.

On the diplomatic front, the United Nations Security Council failed to approve three draft resolutions on chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Russia vetoed a U.S. text, while two Russian-drafted resolutions failed to get a minimum nine votes to pass.

Moscow opposes any Western strike on its close ally Assad and has vetoed Security Council action on Syria 12 times since the conflict started.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council that adopting the U.S.-drafted resolution was the least that member nations could do.

“History will record that, on this day, Russia chose protecting a monster over the lives of the Syrian people,” Haley said, referring to Assad.

At least 60 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in Saturday’s suspected chemical weapons attack on the town of Douma, according to a Syrian relief group.

Doctors and witnesses have said victims showed symptoms of poisoning, possibly by a nerve agent, and reported the smell of chlorine gas.

RUSSIA ACCUSES

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Washington’s decision to put forward its resolution could be a prelude to a Western strike on Syria.

“I would once again ask you, once again beseech you, to refrain from the plans that you’re currently developing for Syria,” he said after the council failed to approve a third draft resolution on chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

International chemical weapons experts are expected to go to Douma to investigate the suspected poison gas attack.

France and Britain discussed with the Trump administration how to respond to the Douma attack. Both stressed that the culprit still needed to be confirmed.

The Douma incident has thrust Syria’s conflict back to the forefront of the international stage, pitting Washington and Moscow against each other once again.

Trump said that he would make a decision about how to respond within a few days, adding that the United States had “a lot of options militarily” on Syria.

Assad’s government and Russia have said there was no evidence a gas attack had taken place and that the claim was bogus.

Any U.S. strike is likely to involve naval assets, given the risk to aircraft from Russian and Syrian air defense systems. A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, is in the Mediterranean.

A key issue being considered by U.S. defense and intelligence agencies and war planners is the effectiveness of Syrian air defenses and the extent to which Russia is helping to organize, and ultimately, direct Syrian air defense operations, according to two U.S. government sources.

Last year, the United States launched strikes from two Navy destroyers against a Syrian air base.

U.S. military action similar to last year’s would likely not cause a shift in the direction of the war that has gone Assad’s way since 2015 with massive aid from Iran and Russia.

There was little expectation that members of Congress would object if Trump launched an attack on Syria, despite some calls for lawmakers to exert their power to authorize military action. Most members of Congress – Democrats as well as his fellow Republicans - praised Trump after the strike last year.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that any strikes would not target the Syrian government’s allies or anybody in particular, but would be aimed at the Syrian government’s chemical facilities.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROBE

The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Syria had been asked to make the necessary arrangements for the deployment of an investigation team.

“The team is preparing to deploy to Syria shortly,” it said in a statement.

The mission will aim to determine whether banned munitions were used but will not assign blame.

The Assad government and Russia both urged the OPCW to investigate the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma, a move by the two countries that was apparently aimed at averting any U.S.-led action.

“Syria is keen on cooperating with the OPCW to uncover the truth behind the allegations that some Western sides have been advertising to justify their aggressive intentions,” Syria’s state news agency SANA said.

A European source said European governments were waiting for the OPCW to carry out its investigation and for more solid forensic evidence from the attack to emerge. Any plan by Washington and its allies to take military action was likely to be on hold until then, the source said.

In Syria, thousands of militants and their families arrived in rebel-held parts of the country’s northwest after surrendering Douma to government forces.

Their evacuation restored Assad’s control over eastern Ghouta, formerly the biggest rebel bastion near Damascus, and gave him his biggest battlefield victory since 2016, when he took back Aleppo.

Aggravating the volatile situation in the region, Iran - Assad’s other main ally - threatened to respond to an air strike on a Syrian military base on Monday that Tehran, Damascus and Moscow have blamed on Israel.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, meanwhile, said there was no threat of the situation in Syria resulting in a military clash between Russia and the United States. TASS news agency quoted him as saying he believed common sense would prevail.

A man is washed following alleged chemical weapons attack, in what is said to be Douma, Syria in this still image from video obtained by Reuters on April 8, 2018. White Helmets/Reuters TV via REUTERS

A Russian warplane flew over a French warship at low altitude in the eastern Mediterranean this weekend, a deliberate breach of international regulations, a French naval source said on Tuesday.

The weekly magazine Le Point said the Russian plane had flown over the frigate Aquitaine and was fully armed. The Aquitaine is equipped with 16 cruise missiles and 16 surface-to-air missiles. It is currently operating off Lebanon alongside U.S. ships as part of France’s military contingent fighting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

Despite the international revulsion over chemical weapons attacks, the death toll from such incidents in Syria is only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of combatants and civilians killed since the war began in 2011. </s> Russia says it will veto a draft U.N. Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on 21 Syrian individuals, companies and organizations allegedly involved in chemical weapons attacks in the war-torn country.

The Security Council is due to vote Tuesday on the proposal drawn up by France, the United Kingdom and the United States which would also ban the supply of helicopters, which investigators say have been used in the attacks, to the Syrian government.

It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin told a news conference Tuesday in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, that the draft resolution is “totally inappropriate.”

"It would undermine trust in the negotiating process. Russia will not support any new sanctions against the Syrian leadership,” said Putin, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad. His comments followed a meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev.

The draft resolution follows a joint investigation by the U.N. and the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that said the Syrian air force and the Islamic State used chemical weapons during the 6-year-old civil war.

The report, published in Aug. 2016, said there was “sufficient evidence” that the air force twice attacked Syrian civilians with chlorine gas and the Islamic State used “sulphur-mustard” gas between 2014 and 2015.

At least 450,000 Syrians are estimated to have been killed and about 5 million have fled the country since the war started in 2011. </s> After the council vote Saturday, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on a town in Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Photo: AFP)

United Nations: The UN Security Council has unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, as new air strikes on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta took the civilian death toll from seven days of bombing to more than 500.

With support from Russia, the Security Council adopted a resolution on the ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations, but the measure did not specify when the truce would go into force beyond saying it should be "without delay."

After the council vote Saturday, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on a town in Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 127 children are among the 519 dead in the bombing campaign that the regime launched last Sunday on the rebel enclave, just outside Damascus, the British-based monitor said.

At least 41 civilians were killed in Saturday's strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

Quickly following up on the vote, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak by phone Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for the truce to take hold "in the coming days," the Elysee palace said in a statement.

To this end France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will also go to Moscow on Tuesday.

The UN vote was initially expected to be held Thursday, but was repeatedly delayed as diplomats were locked in tough negotiations to avoid a veto from Russia, which is militarily supporting President Bashar Al-Assad.

"Every minute the council waited on Russia, the human suffering grew," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote, accusing Moscow of stalling.

"As they dragged out the negotiations, the bombs from Assad's fighter jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling?"

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected accusations of foot-dragging, saying that negotiations were needed to arrive at a demand for a ceasefire that was "feasible."

"What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete on-the-ground agreements," he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has described Eastern Ghouta as "hell on Earth," said the ceasefire must be "immediately" implemented.

To win Russia's approval, language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after adoption was scrapped, replaced by "without delay," and the term "immediate" was dropped in reference to aid deliveries and evacuations.

In another concession to Moscow, the ceasefire will not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the terror groups.

That would allow the Syrian government offensive to continue against Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Idlib, the last province in Syria outside the control of Damascus.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said it was now important to ensure the ceasefire turns into reality on the ground, vowing to be "extremely vigilant... in the hours to come and the days to come."

"Nothing would be worse than seeing this resolution remain a dead letter," he said.

Russia has vetoed 11 draft resolutions throughout the Syrian conflict to block action that targeted its ally.

In November, it used its veto to end a UN-led investigation of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

In Eastern Ghouta, news of the UN vote on the ceasefire was greeted with a shrug.

"I don't think this decision will be implemented. It will be respected neither by the regime nor Russia," said Abu Mazen, a resident of Douma, Eastern Ghouta's main town.

"We can't trust Russia or the regime. We are used to their betrayals," he added.

Control of Eastern Ghouta is shared between two main Islamist factions, while Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is also present.

Russia has been pressing for a negotiated withdrawal of rebel fighters and their families like the one that saw the government retake full control of Syria's second city Aleppo in December 2016.

But all three rebel groups have refused.

World leaders have expressed outrage at the plight of civilians in Eastern Ghouta.

The enclave is surrounded by government-controlled territory, and its 400,000 residents are unwilling or unable to flee the deadly siege.

In one of the many unfolding dramas at a field hospital in Douma, a young woman amputated from the knee breastfed a 40-day-old infant who had lost his entire family in the bombings.

Food supplies have been running dry, with bread no longer available on local markets.

The cornered rebels in Eastern Ghouta have been firing back into Damascus, where six civilians were wounded Saturday, state media said.

Around 20 people have been killed in eastern districts of the capital since last Sunday, according to state media.

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions driven from the homes in the war, which in March enters its eighth year with no diplomatic solution in sight. </s> Russia on Monday angrily condemned the downing of a Syrian aircraft by a U.S. fighter as a "flagrant violation of international law," and said its forces will treat U.S.-led coalition aircraft and drones as targets if they are operating in Syrian airspace west of the Euphrates in areas while Russian aviation is on combat missions.

The Russian defense ministry also said it is suspending an agreement to minimize the risk of in-flight incidents between Russian and U.S.-led coalition aircraft operating over Syria.

Russia, which has provided military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2015, was reacting to U.S. military confirmation that a U.S. F-18 Super Hornet shot down a Syrian SU-22 fighter-bomber on Sunday. The Syrian jet had just dropped bombs near forces known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are aligned with the U. S. military in the campaign against the Islamic State.

Meanwhile, U.S.-backed opposition fighters said that Assad's forces have been attacking their positions in the northern Raqqa province, and warned that they would take action if the attacks continue.

On Monday, the Russian defense ministry said that its warplanes had been in operation in the area of the encounter between the U.S. and Syrian jets, and said that the coalition had not used the deconflicting hotline to warn the Russian jet.

"Multiple military actions of U.S. aviation under the guise of fighting terrorism against the legal military of a state that is a member of the United Nations are a flagrant violation of international law and constitute de facto military aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic," the ministry said.

"We view these actions by the American command as a conscious failure to neglect their responsibilities within the memorandum," the ministry said.

Russia briefly suspended the 2015 memorandum of understanding on the air operations after U.S. forces fired Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian air base in April.

Also on Monday, a senior Russian diplomat warned that the downing of the Syrian jet was "yet another step in a direct and dangerous escalation."

"We are warning Washington not to take such actions in the future," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency.

The confrontation took place late Sunday near the central city of Tabqa, hours after Syrian government forces harassed a U.S.-backed local ground force with airstrikes.

It was the first time that the American military has shot down a Syrian warplane during the six-year conflict, and followed a series of U.S. airstrikes against Iran-backed forces advancing on partner forces in a strategically-prized swathe of land along the Iraqi border.

Outside observers said that Sunday's strike underscored a growing willingness on the part of Assad's forces to confront the U.S.-led coalition as they jostle to roll back Islamic State militants from eastern Syria.

That effort has been bolstered by the freeing up of thousands of Shiite militias that had fought in a campaign across the border to capture the city of Mosul from Islamic State militants.

"The wild card here is the logic of an Assad regime which has decided that it no longer wants to be constrained to a western Syria-based statelet," said Nicholas A. Heras, a fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security.

That shift has been driven by an assessment that the Trump's administration could use the territory its forces capture as a bargaining chip with which to push Assad into a political transition or Syria into a decentralized political system, Heras added.

In Moscow, officials argued that Sunday's shoot-down was intended as a message aimed squarely at them.

Franz Klintsevich, deputy head of the defense and security committee of the Russian upper house of parliament, called the incident "an aggression and a provocation" directed at Russia.

"It looks like Donald Trumps' United States is a source of a brand-new danger both in the Middle East and the world at large," Klintsevich wrote on his Facebook page.

Another member of the upper house, Alexei Pushkov, tweeted that the incident was "a new act of war" against the Syrian government.

The upper house, the Federation Council, is a largely toothless body that essentially carries out Putin's policies with little opposition.

The reaction of Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was more muted. Russia's top diplomat said that the United States should show respect Syria's territorial integrity and that any actions on the ground "should be coordinated with Damascus."

"We call on the United States and all others who have their forces or their advisers 'on the ground' to ensure coordination in our work," the official Russian Tass news agency quoted Lavrov as saying at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Brazil, India and China in Beijing.

Putin last week said that Syria has proven to be a useful testing ground for advanced Russian weapons systems.

"It has done enormous good for our defense industry," Putin told Russians in his annual televised call-in show. "I can say that the experience our armed forces have gained under combat conditions, especially with the use of cutting-edge weapons, is invaluable." </s> The British ambassador to the United Nations, Matthew Rycroft, accused Russia of abusing its veto power.

"In the end, no resolution of this Security Council can end this war. The only thing that can end this war is a change of policy in Moscow," he said after the veto.

A separate counterresolution by Russia that did not call for a halt in airstrikes on Aleppo failed to get the necessary votes to pass.

"It was one weird day" at the Council, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said after the failed vote and his veto. He called it a "strange spectacle."

The Russian veto had been expected as Russia and the United States have been fighting over Russia's support of the Assad regime. Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said airstrikes by Syrian troops with Russian support should be investigated as war crimes as they hit hospitals and civilians. A Syrian family leaves the area following a reported airstrike on Friday, September 23, in rebel-held east Aleppo. Following the airstrike, recovery teams from Syria Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, began working to free the trapped and recover the dead, including small children. This photo was released by the volunteer group Syria Civil Defense of the bodies of a man, with his knee pulled up near his face, and a child covered in dust after they were killed in the airstrike. The volunteers work to recover the bodies the man and child. A Syrian man carries the body of his nephew, recovered from the rubble. The volunteers remove an infant's body from the destroyed building. A Syrian woman carries the body of her infant after he was recovered. "This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives," Kerry said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also condemned the attacks and said the conflict has reached a "moment of truth" for the Council. Syria's regime says it is targeting terrorists in besieged Aleppo, a stronghold of opposition forces fighting the regime. "Everyone knows that there is only one way to save Aleppo and that is for an immediate end to the aerial bombardment that the Syrian regime and their Russian backers are pursuing," Rycroft said Saturday. </s> BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on Syria (all times local):

Russia has denounced what it called "aggression" against Syria in the wake of an apparent Israeli missile attack on a Syrian military installation near Damascus International Airport.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not directly blame Israel for the Thursday morning explosion, but cited Syrian media as saying Israel was responsible.

She says "Moscow condemns acts of aggression against Syria" and calls on everyone to "act within the framework of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria."

Israel appears to be striking at military convoys and installations in Syria at a quickening pace, maintaining it has the right to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that fights alongside Syrian government forces.

Syrian activists say airstrikes across the opposition-held Idlib province have killed at least 19 people, with some targeting ambulances and medical centers.

The Civil Defense, a search-and-rescue organization, says four medical staff were killed in an attack on a university hospital in Deir Sharqi, and another four paramedics or ambulance operators were killed in a strike on an ambulance services charity in Maarzita.

The activist-run Idlib Media Center said another four people were killed by barrel bombs dropped on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, the site of a chemical attack earlier this month.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 19 civilians, including nine children, were killed around the northern province on Thursday. The Civil Defense reported the same overall death toll.

The activists believe Russia or the Syrian government launched the raids. The U.S. is also known to strike at positions in Idlib province, where it targets al-Qaida-affiliated fighters.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced by the war have sought refuge in the rural province, which is now largely under the control of hard-line rebel groups. It borders Turkey to the north.

Syria's government has condemned what it says are "lies and fabricated allegations" by the French foreign minister concerning a deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this month.

Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that the chemical analysis of samples taken from the April 4 sarin gas attack "bears the signature" of President Bashar Assad's government and shows it was responsible.

In a statement issued Thursday, the Syrian foreign ministry said Ayrault's remarks show "France's involvement in masterminding this crime."

It also said France was not suited and had no legal authority to determine what happened in Khan Sheikhoun, the rebel-held town where the incident occurred.

Britain's foreign secretary says Britain could join the United States in further military action against Syria if asked to do so.

Boris Johnson said Thursday it would be "very difficult to say no" if the U.S. seeks British help on a military mission against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

He did not specify whether Parliament would be asked to approve any military action ahead of time. He said that decision would be up to the government and Prime Minister Theresa May.

President Donald Trump ordered a cruise missile attack against a Syrian air base earlier this month in response to Assad's apparent use of chemical weapons against Syrians.

U.S. officials have said further attacks are likely if Assad uses banned chemical weapons again

Syria's state media is reporting that Israel has attacked a military installation near the Damascus International Airport.

SANA says Israel fired several missiles from inside the occupied Golan Heights south of the capital at a military installation near the capital's main airport, triggering several explosions and causing damage.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Residents reported feeling the blasts shortly before 4 a.m.

Israel's intelligence minister says a large explosion near the Damascus airport is in line with Israeli policy but stopped short of taking responsibility for it.

Yisrael Katz wouldn't comment directly on the strike Thursday morning but said "it absolutely matches our declared policy, a policy that we also implement."

Israel has repeatedly warned against "game-changing" weapons reaching Hezbollah from Syria, which along with Iran supports the militant group. Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets on Israel in the 2006 war.

The explosion was heard across the Syrian capital, jolting residents awake, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman said.

Israel has been largely unaffected by the Syrian civil war. It has also carried out a number of airstrikes on suspected weapon convoys it believed were destined for Hezbollah.

Syrian opposition activists and a monitor say a large explosion has rocked the Syrian capital, followed by a fire near Damascus airport.

The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman says the explosion early Thursday has been heard across the capital, jolting residents awake. He says the explosion is reported to have occurred near the Damascus airport road.

The dawn explosion has also been reported by other activists' networks but the source was unclear.

Activist-operated Diary of a Mortar, which reports from Damascus, says the explosion near the airport road was followed by flames rising above the area. A pro-government site Damascus Now says the explosion was near the city's Seventh Bridge, which leads to the airport road.
The European Union condemns Russia's air campaign in Syria, saying it may be guilty of war crimes, and it vowed to impose more sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad's government. The bloc's 28 foreign ministers sought to show their anger at the Russian-backed campaign, which has killed several hundred people including dozens of children since the collapse of a truce brokered by Russia and the United States.