Russia blocks ceasefire in Syria
Moscow questions how the ceasefire, monitoring of hostilities and aid deliveries will be implemented
UNITED NATIONS— Russia blocked a deal on a 30-day ceasefire in Syria as the death toll mounted in the suburbs of Damascus and hostilities headed for escalation in the Afrin region.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia presented to the United Nations Security Council more amendments to a draft resolution that has been under discussion since Feb. 9.
Negotiations have dragged on as hundreds of Syrians died in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta while Turkey invaded the Syrian territory of Afrin, near the Syria-Turkey border.
Kurds yield Aleppo
At last count, at least 400 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta over five days of bombings by the Syrian military backed with Russian air support.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Kurd YPG militia has yielded control of parts of Aleppo back to the Syrian government in order to fight the Turkish invasion of Afrin.
“We in Aleppo have gone to the Afrin canton. As a result the eastern districts of Aleppo city fell under the control of the Syrian regime,” said Furat Khalil, YPG commander in Aleppo, in a message to Reuters.
Russian veto
The United Nations and other Western countries have been seeking a 30-day truce to allow humanitarian aid to enter the war-ravaged nation.
However, Nebenzia told the UN Security Council that Sweden and Kuwait had requested a vote on the draft resolution even though they are “fully aware there is no agreement on it.”
Russia, along with the United States, United Kingdom, France and China, can veto any resolution and has already done so on 10 earlier resolutions.
UN diplomats resumed talks in a last-ditch bid to avoid a Russian veto and a vote at the council was now considered for Friday.
The council needs to reach a “feasible” agreement on a ceasefire and not take a decision that would be “severed from reality,” said Nebenzia before circulating an amended text.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that Moscow could back the measure if it did not apply to rebel groups that are shelling Damascus.
Moscow blamed
The United States, France and Britain called for a quick vote to address the acute crisis on the ground with the US State Department blaming Russia for the situation in Ghouta.
“Without Russia backing Syria, the devastation and the deaths would certainly not be occurring,” said spokesperson Heather Nauert. “It is a good reminder that Russia bears a unique responsibility for what is taking place there.”
But Nebenzia cited concerns over the enforcement of any truce and questioned the feasibility of quickly launching a major aid operation to reach civilians and lift sieges.
Draft terms
The draft resolution would pave the way for the truce to go into effect 72 hours after the adoption and for aid deliveries and medical evacuations to begin 48 hours after that.
It demands the lifting of all sieges including in Eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya and orders all sides to “cease depriving civilians of food and medicine.”