Russia and China used their UN Security Council vetoes Friday to block Western nations' proposals for sanctions against the Zimbabwe regime, which has been widely condemned over recent election violence.
Bush said Washington would now look for ways to punish Zimbabwean leaders over the discredited election, in which President Robert Mugabe claimed victory after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai quit the race citing death threats and beatings of his supporters.
"I think what we need to do now is analyze whether or not we can have more bilateral sanctions on the regime leaders. The Treasury Department and State Department are now working on potential US action," Bush said.
In Friday's vote at the Security Council, nine countries voted in favor of sanctions against Mugabe's government. The United States proposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe, and a travel ban and financial restrictions on Mugabe and his closest allies.
Explaining the Russian position, the country's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said: "The proposed draft is nothing other than interference by the Security Council in the internal affairs of a state, which contravenes UN statutes."
Tsvangirai had won the first round of the election in March, but without the majority required to secure overall victory. Mugabe campaigned in the runoff as the sole candidate.
The opposition said Friday that 113 of its activists had been killed in election violence since March.
