UN: Russia fails to validate Idleb ceasefire declaration

Text by: RFI Follow

As the agreement announced by Russia and Turkey on a ceasefire in northwestern Syria entered into force, Moscow demanded that the Security Council be able to meet behind closed doors in New York to inform Council members of the terms of the agreement. But the meeting did not go as Moscow would have liked.

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With our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten

Another cynical diplomatic outburst against the backdrop of a humanitarian crisis at the UN on Friday, as the Council met behind closed doors to discuss the cease-fire in Idleb that had started a few hours earlier.

Russia has asked the 14 members to validate a declaration " welcoming the agreement signed Thursday between Erdogan and Putin ", but without leaving room for negotiation, it seems. However, the text which she submitted to them was too vague for many members - the United States, Great Britain and France in mind.

First, no mention was made of international humanitarian law. Then, if the agreement between the Turkish and Russian presidents has the merit of having given birth to a cease-fire, according to diplomats, there are still too many gray areas to be able to validate it. It does not evoke for example the fate of the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons on the Turkish border, nor that of the Turkish military observation posts in territories recaptured by the men of Assad.

The Russian ambassador then accused the press in the United States of blocking the statement. A tactic that allows him to pose as a victim in this case where the points are counted between vetoes and blockages, at each meeting of the Security Council, but which could also become an excuse for Moscow to reverse the agreement in the future .

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• UN
• Russia
• Syria