The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has admitted that the UN security council is failing Syria because of big power divisions which have prevented action to end a conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and driven the biggest refugee exodus in a generation.

The UN secretary general told the Guardian that Russia and China should “look beyond national interest” and stop blocking security council action on the conflict in Syria as the flow of refugees to Europe reaches unprecedented levels, The Guardian reported on Monday.

Although Ban did not name Russia and China, the two countries have on several occasions blocked resolutions critical of the Syrian government, threatening sanctions or pressing it towards a negotiated settlement.

Last year, Moscow and Beijing also vetoed a move backed by the 13 other permanent and non-permament members of the security council to refer the Syrian conflict for investigation by the international criminal court.

Ban had backed the referral to the ICC, saying the Syrian people “have a fundamental right to justice”.

He has previously spoken of his “shame” and “anger” at the international community’s “impotence to stop the war” in Syria, and said the UN’s credibility had suffered as a result.