"I would like to remind everyone that having the veto is not a privilege but an issue of using one's powers in one's interest. It is an issue of the balance of power. The unique instrument was devised when the United Nations was created and has for over 70 years ensured that the world does not lose its strategic balance," Zakharova said.
The Kremlin has also voiced its opposition to limiting veto powers.
Aleppo has been a battlefield between Syrian government forces, jihadists, as well as numerous oppositions groups throughout most of the country's five-year civil war. Fighting in Aleppo has escalated over the past few weeks, with the Syrian army and local militia forces having managed to encircle large groups of militants in eastern districts of the city.
In 2015, French President Francois Hollande proposed to limit the use of veto by the five permanent members of the UNSC, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States in case of the mass atrocities.
In October, 2016, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault expressed hope that the draft resolution on ceasefire in Aleppo would not be vetoed in the UNSC.
