UNITED Nations, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Russia imposed its veto to a US-drafter resolution that would scale back the military component of the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara and cement Morocco's autonomy plan as the only basis for negotiating a political settlement to the half-century-old conflict.
The vote followed an unusual showdown among major powers on a file long considered procedurally routine at the Security Council, with Russia circulating a rival resolution on Friday that would have simply extended the mission's mandate for another year without the changes sought by Washington.
(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski and Ahmed Eljechtimi)