Russia and China vetoed on Friday a UN Security Council resolution for a cease-fire in northwest Syria's Idlib province.

Axar.az reports citing Anadolu Agency.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the document as "an attempt to take the heat off the terrorists".

Zakharova said the resolution, presented to the UN Security Council on Thursday, was unrelated with the concern about the safety of civilians in the governorate, which she added severely suffers from the presence of militants.

Further, the project "completely ignored the efforts made by the 'Troika' of Astana guarantors [Russia, Iran, Turkey] to promote a political settlement in Syria," she said.

The proposal was put forth by Kuwait, Germany, and Belgium, and demanded an end to all hostilities in Syria’s last opposition-held enclave without exception, providing for repressive measures against those who violated the ceasefire.

"The authors of the project were not stopped even by the fact that a number of such organizations [in Idlib] are recognized as terrorists by the decision of the UN Security Council, prescribing to wage an irreconcilable struggle with them", she added.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.