UN chief welcomes Security Council resolution on Syria ceasefire

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (APP):UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the adoption of a Security Council resolution demanding a
30-day truce in Syria ‘without delay’ to allow aid access and medical evacuations.
“The Secretary-General welcomes the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution demanding a cessation of hostilities
throughout Syria for at least 30 days,” Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’ spokesman, said in a statement issued at UN
Headquarters in New York on Saturday.
“The Secretary-General stresses his expectation that the resolution will be immediately implemented and sustained,
particularly to ensure the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the
evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and the alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people.”
“The secretary-general reminds all parties of their absolute obligation under international humanitarian and human
rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times. Similarly, efforts to combat terrorism do not
supersede these obligations,” the statement said.
Resolution 2401 was adopted unanimously by the Security Council on Saturday after two weeks of tough negotiations
against the backdrop of escalating violence in the country, particularly in Eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel enclave
near Damascus.
The resolution was adopted on by 15 votes to none, after several delays and a flurry of last-minute
negotiations.
“It would be naive to think that internal Syrian questions can be solved by a resolution,” Russia’s Ambassador to
the UN Vassily Nebenzia told the 15-member Council.
He added that Russia had “supported the intentions” behind the document, but stresses that a ceasefire was not
possible – ithout agreement from warring parties.
He further went on to criticize the ‘ccupational ambitions’ of the US-led coalition, and added that foreign-backed
militants were responsible for the humanitarian crisis that the resolution was aimed at addressing.
He also accused that the West was conducting a ‘propaganda campaign’ against government forces in Eastern
Ghouta, where intense fighting has take place over the last week.
Eastern Ghouta near Damascus has witnessed renewed violence in the past few days, where rebels have mounted
repeated mortar attacks on the Syrian capital in the face of an imminent rout. Western powers, however, blame the
Syrian government and Russia for the crisis.
Meanwhile, US envoy to the UN Nikky Haley censured Moscow for ‘obstructing the voting’ on the resolution, which
was submitted on Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, Sweden and Kuwait, two non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, proposed a month-long
ceasefire measure in Syria to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations.
Russia proposed amendments to the draft resolution to include guarantees that the anti-Syria militants would honour
the ceasefire.
“The Syrian people should not have to die waiting for Russia to organize instructions from Moscow or discuss it with
the Syrians,” Haley, the US envoy, said.
She added that US was “deeply skeptical that the Assad regime will comply” and pointed out that “credibility of the UN
Security Council is at stake.”
After the ceasefire was voted for, Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari stressed that his country does
not need showboating sessions or the establishment of UN committees, but it only needs the current resolutions to
be abide by.
He added that the people in Damascus are deeply suffering due to the actions of the terrorists positioned in the
Eastern Ghouta.
“The appeals of eight million Syrians do not reach the General Secretariat or the mailboxes of Britain’s and
Franc’s representatives, but the appeals of terrorists do reach them,” he added.
He went on to note that the Astana agreement had stipulated that armed groups operating in Syria break any
ties to Daesh and al-Nusra, and also granted the Syrian government the right to retaliate to any attack.
Russia, Iran, and Turkey have been organizing the Astana talks since January 2017. Together, the three
countries have been acting as guarantor states for the peace process.
Russia and Iran are Syrian government allies. Turkey is an ally of the Syrian opposition. The collective efforts of
the three countries, including the brokering of agreements that have significantly reduced fighting in Syria, have
made an impact on the ground in the Arab country.
“We practice a sovereign right of self-defense and we will continue to fight terrorism wherever it is found on Syrian
soil,” he said, stressing that the Syrian government reserves the full right to retaliate against armed terrorist groups
if they attack innocent civilians.
Ja’afari also called on the US, UK, and France to stop holding meetings and making strategic plans aimed at dividing
the country and trying to forcefully change Syria’s government.