PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Saturday urged United Nations Security Council members not to use their veto against a resolution that calls for an end to bombardments of Aleppo.
The council is expected to vote on Saturday on a draft resolution that calls for an immediate truce throughout Syria and access for humanitarian aid. It also demands an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo.
Western diplomats expect that Russia, a permanent Security Council member, will veto the resolution, drafted by France.
"I want to believe that tonight, when the resolution will be presented to the Security Council, no country will oppose it and notably that none of the permanent members will use their veto," Hollande told reporters in his electoral district in Correze, southern France.
Hollande added that using a veto against a resolution that calls for an ceasefire would be tantamount to supporting the bombardments hurting civilians.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Friday the draft resolution contained a number of unacceptable points and politicised the issue of humanitarian aid.