U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday the veto by Russia and China of a U.N. resolution that would have urged the Syrian president to give up power was a "travesty".
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Bulgaria, Clinton said: "What happened yesterday at the United Nations was a travesty."
Western and Arab countries expressed anger after Russia and China blocked the resolution, which was prompted by President Bashar al-Assad's bloody crackdown on anti-government protests.
All 13 other members of the Security Council voted to back the resolution, which would have "fully supported" an Arab League plan under which Assad should cede powers to a deputy, withdraw troops from towns and begin a transition to democracy.
"We will work with the friends of a democratic Syria around the world to support the opposition's peaceful, political plans for change," Clinton said in Sofia on February 5.
