Dear Editor,
President Putin has confirmed that the International Syria Support Group, chaired by Russia and the US, has adopted terms for a ceasefire in Syria commencing February 27, 2016. The two states are ready to launch an effective mechanism of ceasefire regime control covering both the Syrian government and armed opposition groups, through a hotline and a special taskforce. This agreement has been reached due to the efforts of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and US Secretary of State Kerry, expert groups, and the military officials of Russia and the US.
The arrangement includes the lifting of the sieges of cities, the extradition of prisoners and access to humanitarian aid by the affected cities. It will be applied to all parties of the Syrian conflict excluding Islamic State, Al Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council.
The agreement has already made possible the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian cities and villages that are blocked by one or another party to the conflict. Everyone recognizes that in a number of settlements the situation is desperate. In the city of Madaya already dozens of people have starved to death. Therefore, it was decided to start the humanitarian operation in Syria before the introduction of the ceasefire. The first column of trucks with food, medicine and potable water has already arrived in the besieged towns.
Earlier, the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura stated that the delivery of food and other essentials in the besieged cities is a UN “test for the ability of humanitarian assistance.”
According to the UN, at mid-January almost 400 thousand Syrians were living in a blockade. About half of them who were residing in the territories controlled by Islamic State were cut off from access to food, water and medical care.
From 2012 to February 2016 Russia has mounted a variety of humanitarian operations in Syria including sending relief supplies of blankets, sugar, dairy and meat products amounting 1,500 tons. Cargo was transported to the areas controlled by the Syrian government forces and dropped into the besieged cities with transport aircraft.
Talks on a settlement under the auspices of the UN started in Geneva on January 29 this year to stop the violence in Syria, where the provision of weapons to non-government armed forces by the Western states once led to a rise in extremism and the emergence of ISIS. The same scenario was repeated in Somalia, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
As President Putin said, the recent Russia-US arrangement and its implementation in coordination with all states – parties to International Syria Support Group ‒ should become a pattern for responsible actions by the international community against the terrorism threat based on the principles of international law and the United Nations.
Yours faithfully,
Aleksei Illiuviev
Press Attaché of the Russian
Embassy in Guyana
