Security Council votes unanimously in favor for sending international observers to Aleppo

Moscow, SANA-The UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favor of a draft resolution about sending international observers to Aleppo for overseeing the evacuation of terrorists and their families and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The resolution, which was given the number 2328, affirms the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Syria, and stipulates for the UN Secretary-General preparing suitable conditions via negotiations with relevant sides to ensure that representatives of the UN and other international organizations observe the state of civilians and the full compliance with international humanitarian law in the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city.

The resolutions also stipulates for all sides in Syria providing safe access to the city for the observers without obstacles and to provide suitable conditions for delivering humanitarian aid.

In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the decision about sending international observers to Aleppo city should be approved by the Syrian government.

The Ministry said that this statement was made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov during his meeting with the Ambassadors of Finland, Denmark, Sweden Norway and Iceland.

The ministry said that during the meeting the participants were informed about the humanitarian situation in Syria with emphasis on the measures taken by the Russian side in the evacuation of the civilian population of the eastern part of the city of Aleppo and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to them.

The Ministry added that in this context they discussed the process of consensus in the UN Security Council on a draft resolution about sending international observers to the area, adding that the Russian side affirmed that the activities of these observers must be in accordance with the rules of international humanitarian law and must take into account the approval of the Syrian government of such cooperation.

Al-Jaafari: Syria doesn’t oppose any resolution that respects international law, protects civilians, and provides humanitarian and medical aid

Syria’s Permanent Representative at the UN Bashar al-Jaafari said that Syria doesn’t oppose any resolution that respects international humanitarian law, protects civilians, and provides humanitarian and medical aid to citizens, but at the same time he voiced rejection of some Security Council members’ attempts to draft and present resolutions under humanitarian pretexts that actually aim at fulfilling their secret agendas in Syria.

In a press conference after the Security Council adopted the resolution on sending observers to Aleppo, al-Jaafari said that France and Britain insisted on presenting and passing this resolution, and that this is another part of the propaganda against Syria and against its war on terrorism.

“While we respect Security Council decisions, we realize that the true purpose of these efforts is to protect terrorists, not the Syrian people, particularly since the image has become clear after the liberation of Aleppo from terrorists,” he said.

Al-Jaafari noted that the Syrian government is providing more than 80% of the humanitarian aid for the Syrian people across the country, and specifically to civilians, and that it considers these principles to be the basis of its work and its duty towards citizens, adding that the UN isn’t fulfilling its duties properly.

“We oppose some member states’ attempts to draft and present resolutions under humanitarian pretexts – loose draft resolutions that have more than one meaning – in order to exploit them to fulfill their secret agendas and which aim at replacing legitimate governments by force and with the use of military force,” he said, asserting that such resolutions have several goals and intentions but they don’t care about the humanitarian aspect.

“We are dealing with the adoption of this resolution as a moral test and a chance for them to prove their good intentions, if any, and to meet the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people without any malicious or bad agendas against the Syrian citizens,” al-Jaafari said, adding, “This resolution which was adopted today is being applied in Syria for five years and is not a new one.”

He pointed out that the draft resolution speaks about observers at the appointed place affiliated to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Office tasked with monitoring and following up on the implementation of the resolution, and is not talking about external elements or a group replacing those on the ground, adding that the Syrian government has ensured the safety of those for more than 6 years with no one killed or abused all along.

“It’s time for those who claim that they have good intentions to participate, along with the Syrian government, in shouldering this humanitarian responsibility,” he said, adding “the draft resolution is part of our daily efforts.”

Al-Jaafari pointed out that the Syrian government has received more than 100,000 civilians who fled the areas where terrorists had been present in eastern Aleppo up until December 14, and provided them with all the services they needed at a time when UN organizations met no more than 20% of their needs.

He added that the Syrian government has allowed militants to leave eastern Aleppo with their families who left the buses and headed to the areas controlled by the Syrian Arab Army and refused to leave to other areas, a fact that he said is substantiated by videos and photos.

Al-Jaafari pointed out that terrorist groups breached the evacuation agreement in Aleppo and took with them captives and hostages as well as medium weapons contrary to what has been agreed upon, which led to the suspension of the agreement, asserting at same time that the Syrian government is still ready to evacuate the armed factions that are still in eastern Aleppo.

Al-Jaafari cited that the terrorist groups which some UN Security Council members insist on calling “moderate opposition” burned on Sunday 25 buses which were heading to evacuate patients and wounded persons from Kefraya and al-Fouaa, kidnapped 2 of the drivers and killed 3 others. “Moreover, they used a seven-year-old girl as a suicide bomber who blew herself up in a police station in Damascus on Friday,” he said.

Al-Jaafari said it is strange that France and some UNSC members have condemned neither burning the buses nor the suicide attack in Damascus, which, he said, is a proof that their goal is “to shore up what they call moderate opposition.”

Al-Jaafari revealed that the Syrian authorities obtained information proving that many foreign intelligence chiefs who were in eastern Aleppo are trying to flee, citing the names and nationalities of many of them including Turks, Americans, Israelis, Qatari, Saudis, Jordanians and Moroccans.

“Those holding foreign nationalities are trying to escape eastern Aleppo along with fleeing terrorists, that’s why you have seen this hysterical confusion over the past three days at the UN Security Council by France, Britain and the US, because their primary objective is to shore up these foreign terrorists and intelligence chiefs who are of the same nationalities as the countries which proposed the draft resolution, “al-Jaafari said.

Manar al-Freih / Hazem Sabbagh/Manal

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