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Russia’s UN envoy demands US to stop threats against Syria

Nebenzya expressed his "deep concern about public statements by certain US officials, who threaten the sovereign state of Syria with aggression"
Russia's UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya Valery Sharifulin/TASS
Russia's UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

UN, February 24. /TASS/. Russia demands that the United States stop its threats against the Syrian government, Russia’s UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, said on Saturday after the UN Security Council voted to adopt a ceasefire resolution.

Nebenzya expressed his "deep concern about public statements by certain US officials, who threaten the sovereign state of Syria with aggression."

"Let us warn you straight away: we will not allow arbitrary interpretation of the newly accepted resolution. We demand an end to this irresponsible rhetoric. Instead, one should immediately join the common effort to settle the Syrian conflict on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254," the diplomat said.

On Saturday, UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2401 demanding to end hostilities on the entire territory of Syria for at least 30 days to enable humanitarian missions for the population.

According to Nebenzya, Russia "supported this document because it spurs the Syrian conflict sides to end hostilities as soon as possible, to implement previously agreed decisions on the issue and to engage in negotiations on general de-escalation and on introduction of long humanitarian pauses throughout the country’s entire territory."

The Russian diplomat added that the ceasefire cannot be applied to operations against terrorist organizations in Syria, and counter-terrorism missions will continue.

Negotiations on the draft resolution, prepared by Kuwait and Sweden, lasted more than 10 days. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking him to support the draft resolution.

Shortly after the vote, US ambassador the UN, Nikki Haley, accused Russia of deliberately stalling the adoption of the document.

Russia’s UN ambassador said it took so long to adopt the resolution, because Russia objected the "binding scheme to immediately start a relatively long ceasefire period, because this would be simply impossible in this form."

Nebenzya said "a ceasefire cannot begin with a simple order, it requires practical agreements between the warring Syrian sides."

"An approach which is so detached from reality will certainly not contribute to solving pressing humanitarian issues in Syria," he said. "UN Security Council’s demands should be supported by practical agreements on the ground."

He thanked the co-authors of the resolution for their "incessant effort" and "determination to forge a compromise," adding that "the vast majority of delegations" demonstrated a desire to find a universally acceptable solution during consultations on the text of the resolution.