Yemen’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and human rights activist Tawakkol Karman has expressed dismay at Egypt’s pro-Russian stance on a draft Russian UN Security Council resolution voted yesterday in the UN Security Council.

In a statement posted on her Facebook page, Karman said she feels ashamed of the Egyptian position on the Russian draft resolution on Syrian. 

On Saturday, two rival resolutions, one drafted by Russia and the other by Spain and France were voted in the UN Security Council.    

The backed resolution backed by France and Spain received 11 "yes" votes, two "no" votes from Russia and Venezuela, and abstentions from China and Angola, while the Russian-backed one received nine "no" votes, two abstentions, and four "yes" votes. Egypt voted in favour of the two draft UN Security Council resolutions

None of both drafts have been passed yet, Russia vetoed the French-Spanish resolution that called for grounding military aircraft in Aleppo and unhindered humanitarian access to besieged areas in Syria. On the other side, the US, France, and Great Britain vetoed the Russian resolution. 

The Saudi envoy to the UN, Abdullah al-Muallami, whose country is a key ally of Cairo and a supporter of the Syrian opposition, criticized the Egyptian vote for the Russian resolution, calling it as “painful”. 

In response to Riyadh’s condemnation, Egypt’s ambassador  Amr Abu Atta said that Egypt supports all efforts to stop the tragedy of the Syrian people, and that the vote was based on the failure of the two sides of the Security Council to reach a permanent decision.

The resolution drafted by France and Spain suggested an immediate halt of air strikes, aerial bombardments, and military flights. It also proposed unhindered humanitarian access to all areas across the country. 

However, the Russian-backed resolution suggested the immediate cessation of hostilities across the country, particularly in the besieged Aleppo. Furthermore, it demanded the prevention of material and financial support from reaching the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front, and other armed opposition groups.