Russia threatened on Thursday it will veto a US-backed UN draft resolution which calls for more sanctions against Syria, declaring a "red line" against sanctions

Russia threatened on Thursday it will veto a US-backed UN draft resolution which calls for more sanctions against Syria, declaring a "red line" against sanctions.

"Anything can be negotiated but we do not negotiate this. This is a red line," AFP quoted Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Igor Pankin as saying.

Pankin also reiterated Moscow's opposition to any military intervention in Syria while speaking to reporters at the Security Council after the world body's first talks on the Syria resolution,

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov also ruled out a resolution to impose sanctions against Syria as “unacceptable” for Moscow. He said the West-proposed draft resolution is unbalanced as it only calls on the Syrian government to fulfill its obligations.