The Syrian regime bombardment that on Wednesday killed dozens of civilians, including two western journalists, has thrown fresh scrutiny on Russia and China over their block on international action against President Bashar al-Assad.
China declined to follow Russia in rebuffing a meeting of western and Arab states later this week on resolving the Syria crisis, in a move that shows a small but potentially significant political gap between Moscow and Beijing.
While Russia has rejected an invitation to a gathering of so-called “Friends of Syria” in Tunis on Friday, China – which joined Russia this month in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution against Mr Assad – said it was still studying the offer.