Joint Statement

January 23, 2016

In light of the continued humanitarian disaster and bloodshed in Syria; the ongoing war crimes of the Assad regime and its allies, Iran and Russia; and the rapid pace of political developments, the Syrian revolutionary forces have decided upon the following:

First:
We affirm our support, within the parameters of the principles of the Syrian Revolution, for the political process. We emphasize our stance that provisions 12 and 13 on humanitarian issåues of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015) must be fulfilled in full, especially since the importance of these provisions has already been affirmed in the previous Security Council resolutions 2118 (2013), 2139 (2014), and 2165 (2014). We consider the fulfillment of these provisions a basic human right without which it is impossible to begin the negotiating process.

Second:
We affirm that the United Nations and the international community are responsible for the continued siege, starvation, and bombardment of civilians by dint of its failure to oblige the regime concerning the aforementioned Security Council resolutions.

Third:
We fully and categorically reject Russian dictates. We fully and categorically reject Russia’s interference in the political process by way of military aggressions, political extortion, and barefaced meddling in the affairs of the opposition delegation.

Fourth:
We hold the Assad regime and its Russian ally responsible for any failure of the political process due to their continued war crimes, including the killing, besiegement and starvation of civilians; their destruction of essential infrastructure, schools, and border crossings; and their overall refusal to fulfill United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning humanitarian affairs before the start of negotiation