The opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said that negotiations in Geneva cannot be resumed whilst the Assad regime continues to violate the truce and commit the most horrible crimes on a daily basis in Syria.
Following a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, the HNC General Coordinator Riad Hijab said that the current circumstances are not suitable to talk about the political process as a result of the regime’s systematic massacres and repeated violations of the truce, which is now anything but holding.
Hijab said that Kerry expressed concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Aleppo and other Syrian provinces, adding that that the US top diplomat condemned the Assad regime’s targeting hospitals and populated areas.
Hijab added that Kerry referred to consultations with Moscow to press the Assad regime to cease hostilities, respect the truce and allow the creation of an appropriate environment for the resumption of the political process.
In a letter addressed to the United Nations on Thursday, the HNC called for a strong response by the UN Security Council to violations of the truce by the Assad regime and its allies. The HNC said that the Assad regime and Moscow have killed the truce by continuing with their crimes against the Syrian people.
The HNC added that the continued silence of the UN Security Council encourages the Assad regime to persist in carrying out widespread killings, massive destruction and horrifying massacres under the cover of Russia and with the support from Iran and foreign militias fighting alongside the regime.
The HNC stressed that the indiscriminate attacks against civilians require immediate action to deter the Assad regime and its allies from continuing such genocidal attacks on Syrian cities, especially on Aleppo. (Source: Syrian Coalition)