Orient Net, Mar 1, 2018— Deputy US ambassador to the united nations, Kelley Currie, accused Russia of imposing its own terms of ceasefire ignoring the UN security council 2401 resolution on ceasefire across Syria.
On Wednesday (Feb. 28) Ms. Currie said the claimed Russian truce in eastern Ghouta is a “cynical, callous and in flagrant defiance of the demands of 2401,” confirming that the “cessation of hostilities is for at least 30 days, every day, all day. Russia does not get to unilaterally rewrite the terms of the resolution they negotiated, and they sat here and voted for.”
She blamed Assad regime and Iran for using “the same playbook they used for Aleppo in 2016”, and condemned ongoing attacks on eastern Ghouta by Russia, Iran and Assad, “defying the wishes of this Council and the international community.”
US ambassador undermined Russian justifications so that “Assad regime can bomb as ferociously and indiscriminately as it wants and kill as many civilians as it wants.”
The UN Security Council, including Assad’s strongest ally Russia, passed a resolution on Saturday calling for a 30-day countrywide ceasefire. But the measure has not taken effect, with Russia and Assad regime saying they are battling members of ‘terrorist groups’ excluded from the truce.
Russia has instead called for daily five-hour local ceasefires to establish what it calls a humanitarian corridor, so aid can enter the enclave and civilians and wounded can leave.
The first such truce took place on Tuesday but quickly collapsed when bombing and shelling resumed after a short lull.
