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Syrian deputy FM says militants must free Homs for humanitarian aid

On Monday, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) was informed that the Syrian government and opposition agreed on delivery of humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Homs
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad
© AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus

GENEVA, January 28. /ITAR-TASS/. Armed militant formations must free the Syrian city of Homs before a convoy carrying humanitarian aid is allowed to enter the city, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said on Tuesday.

According to Reuters report on Monday, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) was informed that the Syrian government and opposition agreed on delivery of humanitarian aid to war-torn Syrian city of Homs.

“We cannot deliver humanitarian aid to terrorists,” Mekdad said at a news conference in Geneva.

The diplomat also said that the United States intention to continue supplying Syrian anti-government forces with weapons did not contribute to the current internationally brokered negotiations on the conflict resolution in Syria, dubbed Geneva II talks.

“As you may know, the United States openly stated that it would carry on with the supplies of weapons to armed groups,” Mekdad said addressing journalists. “This is not the best decision concerning the atmosphere of Geneva II.”

“We delivered our statement [to the opposition] concerning the given issue,” Mekdad said. “However, we heard from the opposition that they support the US decision. They [the opposition] really think it was a good decision.”

The Syrian deputy foreign minister said that such statements contradict obligations undertaken by the United States as one of the organizers of Geneva II talks and come “as another US manifestation of support to terrorist groups in Syria.”

A logical continuation of Geneva I - the Geneva II international peace conference on Syria - opened on January 22, 2014 in the Swiss city of Montreux, and is now ongoing in Geneva. It seeks to negotiate a solution to the Syrian crisis, which has claimed over 100,000 lives and displaced millions since its start in 2011.