MOSCOW, June 21, 20:00 /ITAR-TASS/. Moscow regrets that EU countries and the United States did not support the statement initiated by Russia in the U.N. Human Rights Council for putting an end to the violence in Syria, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, June 21.
“On June 20, a statement was made in the U.N. Human Rights Council on Russia’s initiative in support of local reconciliations in Syria. This document was supported by 15 countries: Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, China, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Tajikistan, South Africa, and Venezuela,” the ministry said.
“The statement stresses that local ceasefire agreements in Syria have helped save lives, have had a positive effect on the human rights situation and have made it possible to deliver humanitarian aid to peaceful people in conflict-torn areas and allowed internally displaced persons and refugees to return home,” the ministry said.
“The parties to the conflict were urged to work actively to reach local ceasefire agreements in areas where hostilities are continuing. It was stressed that the countries that have influence on the government and the opposition should use it in order to facilitate reconciliations in Syria,” it said.
“Unfortunately, not only did some countries - primarily members of the European Union and the United States - not support the call for ending the violence in Syria but they also did not feel ashamed of publicly speaking against the initiative aimed at saving human lives and improving the humanitarian situation in Syria. And this despite the fact that the United Nations is actively involved in the mediation efforts towards local reconciliations and that ceasefire agreements allow its humanitarian agencies to provide help to those who are in need of it,” the ministry said.
“Instead, the so-called friends of Syria submitted a new draft anti-Syrian resolution to the U.N. Human Rights Council even though support for such plans dwindles with each new session,” it said. “Fewer and fewer countries are ready to follow those who continue the irresponsible policy of changing the legitimate government in a sovereign state, while ignoring the interests of regional stability and security and basically playing up to the terrorist groups which are waging a war in Syria,” the ministry said.