Churkin: First Task after Liberating Aleppo is Full suspension of Combat, Resuming Syrian-Syrian Dialogue
NEW YORK– Russia’s Permanent Representative at the UN Vitaly Churkin said that the first task in Syria after liberating Aleppo will be the full suspension of combat activities and resuming Syrian-Syrian dialogue, noting that the Syrian government has repeatedly confirmed its readiness to engage in dialogue with the “opposition.”
In a speech at a Security Council meeting on Friday on the situation in the Middle East, Churkin said that since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, Russia had been consistently supporting the course of resolving it via political means that respect the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity, SANA reported.
He asserted that Russia is convinced that there can be no alternative to political settlement based on dialogue along with the cessation of combat activities, delivering humanitarian aid, and fighting terrorism.
Chrukin stressed that Russia’s actions in Syria contributed to preventing terrorists from establishing control over Damascus and to liberating large areas in the country, affirming that Russia also helps set up dialogue between the Syrian government and the “opposition” inside the country and abroad.
On a relevant note, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that France and Britain are continuing along a destructive path that is not constructive and distant from reality by their proposal to submit a draft resolution at the Security Council to take “restraining measures” against Syria under the pretext of using chemical weapons.
Gatilov said that there’s no chance that this resolution will pass and Russia would never approve it, stressing that this is clearly an attempt to undermine the political resolution of the crisis in Syria, and that this resolution is blatantly biased, one-sided, fragile, and not based on objective facts, adding that this resolution is no more that an provocative step that seeks to increase political pressure on Syria.