Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council on Sunday that Russia's action in Syria was barbarism, not counter-terrorism, according to Reuters. The ambassadors of Britain and France said war crimes have been committed there.
Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels seeking to topple him. UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura told the council he was convinced the situation in Syria could still be turned and said he would not quit, as Russia and the United States try to salvage a ceasefire. A number of countries have criticized the superpowers' efforts as ineffective.