US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the UN Security Council that the Assad regime “does not want peace unless it’s peace on their terms.”
Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on the situation in Syria on Wednesday, Haley said that the Assad regime continues to bomb, starve, and gas civilians.
“Peace is urgent in Syria. All of us on the Council know that. But we can’t offer support for peace on the one hand, and ignore the fact that the chief sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East and its terrorist militia are digging in.”
Haley reiterated the US support for the efforts of the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura. But she noted that “we are not going to get to peace when the situation on the ground continues to escalate, with dire risks for the security of the entire region.”
“The United States is committed to seeing the full implementation of Resolution 2254,” Haley said. “The United States fully supports your initiative to bring the parties back to Geneva, and to start work on a new constitutional committee in accordance with Resolution 2254,” she added addressing the UN envoy to Syria.
For his part, de Mistura called upon the Council “and all who have influence on the Syrian parties to work urgently for de-escalation, civilian protection, and humanitarian access.” He also urged support for the UN in Geneva to give effect in Geneva to the Sochi Final Declaration and for the UN in convening the political process for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2254.
De Mistura warned that the recent developments in Syria “threaten wider regional stability,” calling on “all those who are concerned in Syria and the region and beyond to de-escalate immediately and unconditionally.”
Assad regime forces and their allied Iranian militias, backed by Russian aerial support, have stepped up attacks in many areas across Syria in clear violation of all ceasefire agreements. The United Nations earlier warned that the situation in Syria is now at its worst in several years. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
