A Russian foreign ministry official said Moscow would not soften its opposition to the draft of a western-backed UN Security Council resolution against Syria following Wednesday’s bombing in Damascus.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bodganov said Russia was “resolutely” against issuing a resolution under the UN charter’s Chapter 7, which allows the council to authorize measures ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention.

A Syrian military retaliation for Wednesday’s Damascus bombing would be possible thanks partly to one of the regime’s few remaining allies: Venezuela.

With a nod from President Hugo Chavez and despite other Western countries' sanctions, South America’s top oil producer still sends fuel to Syria. 

Venezuela has been preparing its fourth major diesel shipment in eight months to Damascus, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

That’s the fuel, the WSJ adds, that Syrian tanks and other military vehicles have been running on during a crackdown that has killed more than 10,000 Syrians since the uprising against Assad began 18 months ago.

Chavez openly supports Assad, calling the Western sanctions and support for the uprising “aggressions against Syria.”