United Nations, October 28 (RHC)-- The Syrian UN ambassador has censured the United States for its huge expenditure on training anti-Syria militants, saying Washington could have spent $500 million to tackle refugee and humanitarian crises instead of arming the terrorists fighting against the Damascus government.

Addressing a United Nations Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Syria on Tuesday, Bashar al-Jaafari said: “The United States spent half a billion dollars -- this is enough to fill the humanitarian deficit -- half a billion dollars... within the framework of the program to train and to equip the moderate opposition.”

The Syrian official also accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of supporting "terrorism with great generosity."

Under the multi-million dollar program, the Barack Obama administration trained rebels outside Syria then sent them back to the battlefield. The Pentagon has said the militant training program would "pause" and it would instead provide terrorist group leaders with equipment and air support.