Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution passed by Germany, Kuwait and Belgium that was approved by 12 countries imposing an "immediate ceasefire" in the northwestern province of Idlib.
It is the 13th veto Russia has used to block a resolution on Syria since the war broke out in that country in 2011.
Of the 15 countries that make up the Security Council, 12 voted in favor, while Equatorial Guinea abstained.
The three sponsors formally asked Russia not to veto the text, which was negotiated for 15 days, but was rejected.
Russia required the continuation of the draft resolution to include an exception to "military operations targeting individuals, groups or entities associated with terrorist groups," a demand rejected by Westerners as this paragraph legitimizes the door to different interpretations and to continue targeting civilian facilities.
According to Germany, the three countries sponsoring the draft resolution agreed to include in it a reference to "terrorist measures" on condition that they respect international law.
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia condemned the "growing humanitarian sentiments" of the members of the Security Council whenever the Syrian government takes a step forward on the road to the restoration of more areas.
"It's the same tone," the Russian diplomat joked. "Terrorists are becoming representatives of the opposition."
"The fate of the resolution was doomed from the start and you deliberately divided the Security Council."
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 400,000 people have been displaced to areas not covered by shelling near the Turkish border, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations has been warning for weeks of the worsening humanitarian situation in the province, where some 3 million people, including 1 million children, live.