The panel created unanimously by the Security Council is due to end in mid-November. Russia has drawn criticism for the move, but says it must first review an upcoming report before allowing the probe to move forward.
Image: picture-alliance/Zuma Press
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Russia on Tuesday cast a veto at the United Nations Security Council blocking the extension of a mission set up to identify perpetrators of chemical weapon attacks in Syria.
The Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), a joint panel of the United Nations and chemical weapons watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was created by the Security Council in 2015 and renewed last year for another year.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has denied using chemical weapons in the 6-year civil war and claims it no longer possesses chemical arsenal in compliance with a 2013 agreement brokered by Russia and the United States.
Dozens were killed in a chemical weapon attack in Khan Sheikhoun in Syria in AprilImage: Getty Images/AFP/O. H. Kadour
Failed attempt to postpone vote
Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia wanted to discuss the JIM report on Khan Sheikhoun before voting on the extension of the mission.
"Don't try to create the impression that the JIM will be a dead letter unless we adopt this resolution today," Nebenzia said ahead of the vote.
"We are ready to return to extending the JIM after the publication of the report and after we discuss it after the 26 of October."
But US envoy Nikki Haley insisted on a vote before the report, saying Russia wanted first to see if the report blames its ally Syria for the Khan Sheikhoun attack. The US blames the Syrian military for the attack.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
China abstained from Tuesday's vote, while Bolivia joined Russia in voting against the resolution. Eleven countries voted in favor of the text.
"Russia has once again demonstrated it will do whatever it takes to ensure the barbaric Assad regime never faces consequences for its continued use of chemicals as weapons," Haley, who is currently in Africa, said in a statement.
"This is the ninth time Russia has protected Assad and his team of murderers by blocking the Security Council from acting," she said. "In doing so, Russia once again sides with the dictators and terrorists who use these weapons."
