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US Ambassador Nikki Haley warned, during a United Nations Security Council meeting on a deadly poison gas attack in Syria, that when the world body fails to act collectively, then countries are "compelled to act."
Western countries blamed President Bashar al-Assad's armed forces for the attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in a rebel-held area of northern Syria hit by government air strikes. Syria's government denied responsibility.
She did not signal what sort of action could be taken.
In February, Syrian ally Russia, backed by China, cast its seventh veto to protect Assad's government from council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks.
US President Donald Trump faulted Obama on Tuesday for failing to enforce the red line. Obama's spokesman declined to comment.
"We're talking about war crimes," French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters.
Speaking in the council, British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft asked Russia:
Safronkov responded by saying Russia has more than one plan, but the first one is to fight terrorism.
Rycroft said those vetoes sent Assad a message of encouragement and Tuesday's attack was "the consequence."
An investigation by the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found Syrian government forces were responsible for three chlorine gas attacks in 2014 and 2015 and that Islamic State militants had used mustard gas.
The United States, Britain and France have proposed a Security Council resolution to condemn the latest chemical weapons attack, and push Syria to provide an international inquiry with flight plans and logs for Tuesday, the names of all helicopter squadron commanders and access to air bases.
Assad had agreed in 2013 to give up his chemical arsenal under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States.
UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo told the Security Council on Wednesday that all Syria's declared chemical materials and equipment have been removed or destroyed.
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