Statement by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the UN Security Council following the adoption of the resolution in support of the Vienna process
December 18, 2015Mr Chairman,
Colleagues,
I would first of all like to thank US Secretary of State John Kerry for his initiative to hold the third meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) here in New York, which made it possible for us to gather in this room. The ISSG meeting has confirmed the commitment of its members to the process launched in Vienna. The resolution which has been just adopted approves the documents of the International Group dated October 30 and November 14, 2015 on the ways to implement the Geneva Communiqué of June 30, 2012. It clearly states that, first, all those documents make up a single platform for solving the bloody Syrian crisis, and secondly, that the Vienna format is the only one which unites all the influential external actors, and owing to that it is capable of providing external conditions for a sustainable and fair settlement through negotiations between the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the whole spectrum of the opposition.
The Resolution yields international legal authority to the collective efforts on preparing such negotiations under the auspices of the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. The Resolution underscores that only an inclusive dialogue pursued by Syrians themselves can put an end to the incredible sufferings that befell the Syrian people. It also reiterates the fundamental principles of political settlement. Syria must remain a single, secular, multi-confessional and multi-ethnic state which is comfortable and safe for all the groups of the population. And only the Syrian people are entitled to determine their future. This is a clear answer to the attempt to impose on Syrians external solutions of some issues, including the fate of their president. It is exactly the approach stated in the Geneva Communiqué, in the ISSG documents and in today’s Resolution. We are still united in the belief that no terrorists of any kind can have a place at the negotiating table, nor those who admit to a military resolution of the conflict.
Today’s unanimous vote at the Security Council shall open a way to the formation of a broad anti-terror front based on the UN Charter, relying on all those who combat terror on the ground, including the Syrian army, Kurdish militia, and armed units of the patriotic Syrian opposition. Operations by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces at the request of the legitimate government of the Syrian Arab Republic have contributed to this task. An important role will be borne by the UNSC Resolution submitted by the United States and adopted yesterday, which aims to tighten control over the funding of ISIS and other terrorists, to curb their funding sources, primarily from illegal oil trade.
The fight against terrorism should be consistent and systematic, be it in Syria or anywhere else. Attempts to separate terrorists into good and bad are unacceptable. The Resolution emphasises the need for a humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people. It should be provided in full compliance with the guiding principles of the UN recorded in the UN General Assembly resolutions and decision by the UNSC, including the principle of agreement of the recipient side. It is crucial that the Security Council has once again reiterated the need to respect the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic. The approved Resolution assigns the Security Council the control over the implementation of the Vienna agreements, with assistance from the ISSG. The UN Secretary-General and its Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura are assigned the leading role in arranging and securing the negotiating process with due account for the Syrian opposition meetings, including the ones that were held in Moscow, Cairo, Riyadh, and also in Damascus, Al-Hasakah and other venues. We expect the Security Council Secretariat to provide balanced recommendations on imperative steps in all the directions agreed upon in Vienna. We are confident that our colleagues on Mr de Mistura’s team will take those assignments with great responsibility and impartiality, resisting possible attempts to sway them towards one side or another, and will be guided exclusively by the task of assisting in the search for mutual agreement between the government and the opposition, which is what today’s Resolution calls for. As the recommendations are being prepared, we will be ready as ISSG co-chairs together with the United States and the UN to call its next meeting to determine on the basis of consensus further steps in support of the Syrian settlement.
We call on our colleagues, not to yield to ideological rhetoric in the course of the work that lies ahead, to avoid fanning disastrous inter-confessional strife, to work pragmatically not losing sight of the primary objective to rein in terror and violence, to steer the conflict towards political settlement. This approach has no alternative – if we place the interests of the Syrian people and the Syrian nation rather than geopolitical ambitions as a top priority.
