UNITED NATIONS - China and Russia Tuesday evening cast their veto to kill a US-and-European-backed UN Security Council that would have condemned Syria and hinting it could face sanctions if its crackdown on protesters continues. Lebanon, India, Brazil and South Africa abstained from supporting the draft resolution submitted by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal. Nine countries voted for the resolution. The vote was: 9-2-4. The text, which was defeated, drew 9 votes in favour, with 4 abstentions (Brazil, India, Lebanon, South Africa). Syrias UN ambassador, Bashar al-Jaafari, reacted to the veto with a smile and thanked the 'voices of the wise who had confronted what he characterised as colonial and military aspirations of Western powers that are 'doomed to failure. The vote triggered an angry reaction from US Ambassador Susan Rice, who walked out of the Security Council meeting in protest during the Syrian envoys statement, in which he accused the United States of being a 'party to genocide through its support of Israel on the council. The British envoy, Mark Lyall Grant, walked out some time after Rice. The United States is outraged that this council has utterly failed to address an urgent moral challenge and a growing threat to regional peace and security, Rice said. Several members have sought for weeks to weaken and strip bare any text that would have defended the lives of innocent civilians from Assads brutality. Western diplomats said the decision by Moscow and Beijing to use their veto power could indicate that the Security Council might be headed for a longer-term deadlock on issues related to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the 'Arab Spring pro-democracy movements in the region. We cannot today doubt the meaning of this veto of this text, French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud told the 15-nation council. This is not a matter of wording. It is a political choice. It is a refusal of all resolutions of the council against Syria. This veto will not stop us, he added. No veto can give carte blanche to the Syrian authorities. The United Nations says Syrian military operations against demonstrators have killed at least 2,700 civilians. Grant, the British ambassador, said that he, too, was 'deeply disappointed by the rejection of the resolution. Regarding Syrian President Bashar al-Assads promises of reforms, Lyall Grant said: There is no sign of reform or a genuine attempt to address the concerns of the Syrian population. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council that Moscows veto reflected 'a conflict of political approaches between Russia and the European council members. Churkin said that Moscow was firmly opposed to the threat of sanctions against Damascus, adding that what he described as the confrontational approach of the European delegations was 'against the peaceful settlement of the crisis. He reiterated his concerns that passing the European resolution on Syria could have opened the door to a Libya-style military intervention in the Syrian authorities six-month crackdown on anti-government demonstrations there. Churkin added, however, that Moscow would prefer it if Syria was 'quicker with implementing the promised changes. Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong said that Beijing opposed the idea of 'interference in (Syrias) internal affairs. Jaafari, the Syrian ambassador, added that the Western powers 'aggressive rhetoric against his country had helped him defeat their draft resolution. He also blasted countries for hosting the Syrian 'terrorists opposed to his government. For months, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - the 'BRICS countries - have criticised the United States and European council members for allegedly allowing Nato to overstep its Security Council mandate to protect civilians in Libya. No BRICS countries supported the Syria resolution. No diplomats had expected Lebanon, which has had a complicated relationship with its neighbour Syria, to support the draft. The failed resolution was a watered-down version of previous drafts that had threatened Syria with sanctions if it ignored international demands that it halt its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Later drafts removed the word sanctions, though this was not enough to satisfy Russia and China.