Russian Foreign Ministry: UN representatives ignore the rules of international humanitarian assistance in Syria

Moscow (ST): The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the “high-ranking” UN representatives’ disregard for the rules and basic principles of international humanitarian assistance and the suffering of millions of Syrians in order to satisfy the political demands of Western countries to undermine Syria’s sovereignty and deepen its territorial division.

A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said today: “Moscow’s attention was drawn to the collective appeal of representatives of the humanitarian wing of the United Nations on the fifth of July, against the background of the discussion in the Security Council in New York regarding international humanitarian assistance to Syria, including the cross-border mechanism. It pointed out that the major members of the United Nations, “mostly Americans and Europeans, by sheer coincidence as they claim,” put the sign of equality between humanitarian assistance to the Syrians in general, and the arbitrary mechanism that violates international humanitarian law.

The statement pointed out that Syria remains the only country in the world where a cross-border mechanism for the delivery of humanitarian aid has been operating since 2014, as a temporary and emergency measure,  without the approval of its government and coordination with it. This mechanism is being used in order to ensure the uninterrupted supply of groups classified as terrorist in the Security Council in Idlib.

The statement also denounced the Western countries’ complete disregard for the suffering and needs of 14 million Syrians for one reason only: that they live in areas under the supervision of the Syrian government. The impression is being created that these Syrians do not need help, especially after the devastating earthquake on the sixth of last February.

The Russian Foreign Ministry statement indicated that at the same time, and with great care, a blind eye is being turned to facts such as the thwarting of internal humanitarian convoys from Damascus to all regions of the country “cross line” and the undermining of early reconstruction projects for civilian infrastructure including “schools, hospitals, homes, water supply and electric power”, adding that this is the result of unilateral illegal restrictions, and the failure to implement donor promises in light of the continued plundering of natural resources such as oil and grain by Western countries.

Earlier today, Russia vetoed a Western draft resolution in the UN Security Council that violates Syrian sovereignty under the pretext of cross-border aid delivery, while the West obstructed the adoption of a Russian draft resolution that represents a sincere attempt to enable the Council to carry out its responsibilities to truly improve the humanitarian situation in Syria.

K.Q.