Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the Syrian settlement in a telephone conversation for the sixtieth time this year and for the seventh time in October. This time they discussed ways to normalize the situation in the eastern part of Aleppo, where Russia's air force and Syrian government forces announced a humanitarian pause in their bombings, and ready to extend it if Jabhat al-Nusra and others illegal armed groups, which joined it, do not violate the ceasefire.
Lavrov reminded Kerry of the US promise detachments of ‘moderate’ opposition from terrorist groups, saying that Moscow and Damascus have give the chance to leave the city not only civilians but also participants of illegal armed units, but militants are disrupting the cessation of fire and hindering evacuation of the population.
The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the situation in Aleppo is still characterized by extreme tensions. "In the eastern part of the city the government army continues to besiege significant number of armed extremists, including militants of the terrorist organization Dzhabhat en-Nusra and its allied groups. The main efforts of the illegal armed formations are focused on retaining their positions, as well as the transfer of reinforcements and attempts to unlock their allies," the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said.
She noted sharp criticism and unfounded attacks of Western politicians and media against Russia over the humanitarian situation in eastern Aleppo: "The difficult situation there has unfolded as a result of the US' failure to comply with its obligations within the framework of the September 9 Russian-US agreements to ensure the cessation of hostilities in Syria. The US has still not been able to force the armed opposition to withdraw its forces from Castello road. This would have opened up humanitarian access to civilians trapped by militants. Nothing has been done for the so-called moderate opposition leaders to distance themselves from ISIL and al-Nusra Front terrorists.
Those who were so concerned about the humanitarian situation in eastern Aleppo, ignore the suffering of people in western part of the city, which is controlled by the Syrian government. Meanwhile, the residential neighborhoods of Aleppo, Damascus and other Syrian settlements continue to be targets of indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks by militants of illegal armed groups."
Civilians die every day, including women, children and the disabled, as a result of indiscriminate attacks of extremists and sabotages against socially important civil infrastructure facilities. The degradation of the humanitarian situation in Syria is largely due to the unilateral sanctions against Syria, introduced by the US, European countries and a number of other states, the Russian Foreign Ministry believes. They are convinced that it does not matter in what part of Aleppo there are ordinary Syrians, who suffer and die, they cannot be divided. There is a need for urgent and effective measures to assist all those in need in Syria, regardless of their beliefs or political affiliation.
