The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution, the draft of which was a result of talks between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the International Support Group on Syria.
In it, the UNSC "expresses its support for free and fair elections under the new Constitution that should be held within an 18-month period and organized under the supervision of the United Nations, being a subject to the principles of public administration."
The resolution also "calls upon all states to use their influence on the government of Syria and the Syrian opposition in order to advance the peace process, promote the implementation of confidence-building measures and steps towards a ceasefire."
The document stresses the need for a mechanism of "monitoring, verification and reporting" of the ceasefire. To this end, within one month after the adoption of the document the UN Secretary-General should present a ‘report of the Security Council to present options for establishing such a mechanism which it can support’’
In addition, the Security Council called on all parties to the conflict "to immediately allow humanitarian organizations prompt, safe and unhindered access throughout Syria for the most direct routes," and allow for deliveries to all needy people, RIA Novosti reports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the adoption of the resolution, said that it assigns to the UN Security Council control over the implementation of the agreements reached in Vienna. According to him, the UN Secretary General and the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, plays a leading role in the organization and support of the negotiating process with the outcome of the meetings of the Syrian opposition in Moscow, Cairo, Riyadh, Damascus and al-Hasakah."
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the adopted UN Security Council resolution stipulates that only the Syrian people can determine their own future, including the fate of Assad. "Syria must remain a united, secular, multi-religious and multi-ethnic state, safe for all groups of the population. And only the Syrian people have the right to determine their own future. This is a clear response to the attempts to impose decisions on the Syrians from outside, including the fate of their president,’’ Tass quotes him as saying.
In turn, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that there are obstacles and sharp differences in the international community, particularly regarding the fate of President Bashar al-Assad. He drew attention to the fact that in order to address issues the transitional political process in the country should be led by the men and women of Syria. "It is necessary that the Syrians agree on an alternative leadership of the country," the secretary of state said, as he believes that Assad has lost all credibility and cannot unite the country and does not have the moral authority to manage it in the future.
