Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, confirmed Russia’s withdrawal from the UN mechanism for exchanging information about humanitarian sites in Syria, noting that it has no mandate from the Security Council.
“This mechanism was the result of a voluntary agreement. It has no mandate from the UN Security Council. I have referred more than once to the disadvantages of this mechanism, but it has been consistently ignored,” Nebenzia said during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs, Marc Lukoc, said that Russia had informed the United Nations of its withdrawal from the clearing-house mechanism on humanitarian sites and the movements of humanitarian personnel inside Syria on Jun, 23, 2020.
Earlier, the Russian delegate to the United Nations had criticized the mechanism, indicating that it is not without flaws, but rather is used for disinformation campaigns, as there were cases of use of the sites, referred to as humanitarian, by terrorists. Nebenzia also pointed out the difference between the coordinates of the United Nations and the true locations.
Washington feels a “shock”
Commenting on the Russian withdrawal from the UN mechanism, the US permanent representative to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, said the United States was “shocked” by the Russian decision.
“The US will not waiver in our commitment to the Syrian people and will do everything we can to get them the aid they need to survive. This Council has a decision to make: join us in supporting the cross-border humanitarian aid mechanism or let people die,” she tweeted.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
