Last-minute negotiations in New York failed to bridge the gap between an Arab-western plan for political transition and Moscow's refusal to arm-twist concessions from Bashar al-Assad. China's supportive veto was bleak repetition of past practice.

Grim faces around the council's table attested to a diplomatic failure following agreement to dilute the resolution to assuage concerns about regime change or foreign military intervention.

Overshadowed by memories of last year's Libyan crisis, the final draft did not even call on Assad to hand power to his deputy, as Arab countries had demanded. Instead, it simply expressed support for a "Syrian-led" political transition. It mentioned neither sanctions nor any other punitive action, or blocking arms deliveries – Russia is Assad's most important supplier. The scathing western responses, including U.S. "disgust", reflected frustration as well as real anger.

Many among Syria's opposition had never had high hopes of diplomacy. "Whatever happens in New York, the Syrian people are on their own in the fight against Assad," blogger Maysaloon tweeted hours before the Russian decision on the East River. "The Syrian people got this far without the U.N. They will topple Assad in spite of Russia and China," he added later.