29.06.2020, New York.
Russia will not participate in the UN deconfliction system in Syria, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya stated at a meeting of the UN Security Council on June 29.
According to the diplomat, Russia justified its decision by the fact that terrorists used a number of humanitarian facilities [included in the UN deconfliction arrangement]. Therefore, Russia informed on June 23 that it would no longer participate in the humanitarian notification system.
“This mechanism operated on a voluntary basis, it was not fixed by any Security Council resolutions or other legally binding documents,” explained the Russian Permanent Representative. “Our own investigations have repeatedly shown that some of the objects included in the humanitarian notification system were actually used as terrorist headquarters, so they could not be granted a humanitarian status.”
Russia cannot target civilian facilities in Syria, even if it withdraws from the UN deconfliction system, Nebenzya added.
According to the diplomat, the right thing to do is to settle the issue of deconfliction directly with Syrian authorities.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said during the meeting that Russia withdrew from the humanitarian notification system on June 23.
In September 2019, Permanent Representative Nebenzya warned of the danger that terrorists might take refuge in facilities that they themselves had asked to be included in the list of deconfliction.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
