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Russian reconciliation center cannot deliver humanitarian aid to Rukban camp because of US

Chief of Russia’s center for reconciliation of the warring parties Sergei Kuralenko said that humanitarian deliveries are to be conducted "in conformity with the requirements of international law"
A refugee camp in Syria AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh
A refugee camp in Syria
© AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. It is impossible to begin humanitarian deliveries to the Rukban refugee camp in Syria because the US side has not submitted to the United Nations documents necessary for that, chief of Russia’s center for reconciliation of the warring parties Sergei Kuralenko said on Friday.

"The Russian reconciliation center continues efforts to organize humanitarian deliveries to the Rukban refugee camp. But, despite the earlier agreements with the US force command at at Tanf, the UN has received no consent from the US side, which makes it impossible to begin practical actions to organize humanitarian convoys," he said.

According to Kuralenko, humanitarian deliveries are to be conducted "in conformity with the requirements of international law." "Humanitarian aid should be delivered directly to people living in the camp to prevent its seizure by members of terrorist organizations acting in and around the refugee camp," he stressed.

The Russian center conducted another humanitarian operation in the city of Deir ez-Zor, Kuralenko said, adding that a total of 2.4 tonnes of food products were delivered to its residents. Apart from that, Russian officers reached an agreement with leaders of armed opposition groups in Eastern Ghouta on security of another UN humanitarian convoy to this area.

He also said that one more settlement - Hauz in the province of Homs - has joined the ceasefire. "More than 2,000 people have joined the peace process," he noted.

Apart from that, the center’s command met with representatives of the Monitoring Team of the United Nations ISIL (Da'esh) & Al-Qaida (both outlawed in Russia as terrorist organizations) Sanctions Committee. "Representatives of the Monitoring Team were informed about the results of the Russian center’s activities. The sides discussed the situation in the de-escalation zones, with a special focus made on activities of the terrorist organizations Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra (also outlawed in Russia)," Kuralenko said.

Situation in Rukban

The Russian defense ministry said on Monday that the Russian military had offered US colleagues to jointly ensure safe delivery of humanitarian supplies for refugees in the Syrian camp Rukban.

Russian military have repeatedly warned about a worsening situation in Rukban, pointing to continuing "spread of drugs, propaganda and recruitment of people into terrorist organizations". The reconciliation center also said that the US military who deployed a base in At Tanf prevent the delivery of humanitarian cargoes for the camp. "At the same time, the American side and illegal armed formations impede establishment of a safe passage for humanitarian cargos to be delivered to the people in the camp," it said.

Early in November, Russian specialists said actions by US military and the US-led coalition in the area of At Tanf can be qualified as a war crime. In particular, they said US military were not providing assistance to the refugees injured in a shootout near the Rukban camp on October 29.