19 Feb 2018

The humanitarian situation in Syria remains difficult and Russia continues to deploy multi-dimensional efforts to provide aid to the civilian population, both by bringing in humanitarian supplies and facilitating the work of international humanitarian bodies.

A press release from the Russian Embassy in Botswana says that Russia has repeatedly called on all parties to stop the hostilities and this however is not working because of active resistance by terrorists and extremists who are doing their best to disrupt the processes of establishing peaceful life and do not want to see Syria as a united, sovereign and independent state. 

“The attempt to put the entire burden of responsibility solely on the official Syrian authorities are groundless and it is clear that many of our Western colleagues tend to avoid thoughtful analysis of the developments in Syria,” it states.

The release further states that Rukban has turned into a ghost city in the wake of massive bombardment by the US-led ‘anti-ISIS’ coalition in the autumn of 2017.

More than 80 per cent of the buildings in this city have been destroyed and the mine clearance effort is moving very slowly.

The release further explains that Rukban camp located next to the border with Jordan cannot be accessed because it is located inside a ‘security area,’ which is illegal and without prior arrangement created by the United States and the US troops have this area under their control.

“On the night of February 9 to 10, and on the morning of February 10, Israeli aircraft dealt several missile strikes on targets in Syria, including those on the border of the de-escalation zone on the south west of the republic, the loss among the Syrians and the material damage resulting from these attacks are yet to be confirmed,” it further explains.

It is necessary to unconditionally respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and other countries of the region therefore the Russian Federation urges all parties involved to exercise restraint and to avoid any actions that could lead to an even greater complication of the situation. Ends