MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. The United Nations and its specialized bodies should not stay aside from humanitarian problems of the Syrian people, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday after his talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.
"The central authorities are regaining control of Syrian regions liberated from terrorists and they need assistance. It is of importance that implementation of large-scale reconstruction projects should be put on track," Lavrov said. "The main problem is that some donors show no interest in providing aid as soon as a chance of gaining either political or even military benefits vanishes."
"We expressed hope that the UN and its specialized agencies will not remain indifferent to troubles and sufferings of the Syrian people and will act in strict accordance with their mandate. We would like the UN to beef up its presence where help in rebuilding housing, infrastructure and vital facilities is much needed," Lavrov said.
"I mean the areas liberated from extremists and terrorists in Aleppo, Eastern Ghouta, Raqqa and Deir ex-Zor, where refugees and internally displaced persons are coming back to," he added.
The Russian top diplomat pointed out that the UN increased presence in Syria is needed to gather reliable information.
"Apparently, the UN stepped-up presence in Syria deserves attention in particular from the point of gathering reliable information," Lavrov said. "We cannot be satisfied with the situation when UN agencies rely in their reports and public statements on the information taken from other, but not the UN, sources in Syria," he said.
"Very frequently, those [sources] are so-called activists and representatives of the NGOs of dubious origin that are funded by the states hostile to Damascus. As a result, there emerges a distorted and biased picture of the situation," Lavrov added.