Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Briefing on Syria
Mr. President,
We are grateful to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, and the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ms. Joyce Msuya, for their comprehensive overview of the situation in Syria. We welcome the participation of the Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Shibani.
We share the assessment that the security situation in Syria remains very worrisome. We are concerned about the ongoing clashes between the Syrian National Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), despite formal agreements to integrate both groups into the new national security structures. We have observed that the Israelis continue to carry out indiscriminate strikes targeting the entire territory of the country and are expanding their presence in Quneitra, where they have already established a military base. Unfortunately, the situation along the Lebanese-Syrian border remains tense. And there is a persistent serious terrorist threat emanating from ISIL and other terrorist groups who are still active in Syria.
Against this background, it is important that the calls to preserve Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty not remain empty slogans and be respected in practice by all UN member states, including Syria's neighbors. It is necessary to get Israel back to complying with the provisions of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, make it halt its attacks against Syria’s territory and withdraw its troops from Syria. All the more so since Damascus has repeatedly reaffirmed its willingness to build constructive relations with all of its neighbors without exception.
We note as positive the progress made in the dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the Kurds, including the agreement on a handover under the control of the authorities of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo and the Tabqa dam on the Euphrates River, as well as the launch of the working groups, which has been envisaged under the agreement signed on 10 March in Damascus between Ahmed Sharaa and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi. We are convinced that enhancing cooperation with the Kurds is something that will help to advance inter-national cohesion in Syria and send a positive message to the other ethno-confessional minorities.
Against that background, we also remain alarmed by the situation in the coastal regions, first and foremost in Latakia and Tartus provinces, where intense tensions and instability persist. Those regions have not yet recovered after the recent tragic events, which mostly affected Alawite civilians and forced thousands of people to flee their homes. Let us recall that many of the those affected or those who fled violence have found temporary refuge outside of the country, some have taken refuge at the Russian Khmeimim airbase, where they remain to this day. We call on OCHA to pay particular attention to the humanitarian situation in these regions, where, according to UN estimates, at least 1.2 million Syrians are in dire need of assistance. We believe that the ongoing reformatting of the UN humanitarian architecture in Syria should reflect the specific needs of the country's coastal regions, and that the specialized structures should be provided with the necessary resources to proactively respond to the challenges that emerge there.
Mr. President,
There are still a lot of unresolved questions regarding the controversial developments in western Syria. What is of particular significance in this context, is the work of the independent Fact-Finding Committee investigating the deadly events on the country’s West coast, which was established on 9 March. We have taken into account Ahmed Sharaa's decision to extend the deadline for submitting the report by three months. We hope that this time will be used to make sure that the investigation is comprehensive, transparent, independent and impartial in nature, that it is carried out in accordance with international standards and geared towards bringing all those responsible to justice, as per the relevant presidential statement of the Security Council. This is what will shape the foundation for Damascus' future relations with the Alawite community and other ethno-religious minorities. It is important that both the UNSC and the Special Envoy be informed about the outcome of the investigation. It is also necessary to deal with the reports of mass abductions of Syrian women and girls in the west of Syria. Such developments are unacceptable for any secular State. The perpetrators must be identified and punished.
Mr. President,
Syria is still experiencing one of the most acute and protracted humanitarian crises of modern time. The overwhelming majority of Syrians live below the poverty line, and millions remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Among the most vulnerable are children insofar as they have been stripped of access to basic services, including education, and every day they have to cope with the consequences of the profound socio-economic decline.
We have seen positive signals from the new Syrian authorities, who are demonstrating their willingness to cooperate on humanitarian matters. We welcome the visible uptake in the work to rebuild critically important infrastructure, as well as in measures to provide food and medical assistance. We commend the emerging positive trends when it comes to returning Syrian refugees – in the past four months, over 430,000 people have returned to the Syrian Arab Republic.
However, we do have to acknowledge that humanitarian support remains objectively insufficient due to the catastrophic shortage of funding. As of today, there have been mobilized only 9 per cent of the required $2 billion, which were requested for the period from January to June. This raises concerns, especially given that the voluntary repatriation of citizens needs to be accompanied by the creation of appropriate conditions for a dignified life. Otherwise, humanitarian problems and social tensions will nothing but mount.
We call on the international community to urgently mobilize resources, show solidarity and not let the hope for peace and reconstruction in Syria fade.
Russia remains committed to assisting the Syrian people. We continue to provide support both through bilateral channels and through international organizations. Despite the financial restrictions imposed on our country by the West, we have recently managed to make another voluntary contribution to the WFP budget – $5 millions of this sum is to be allocated for supplying food to Syria. The FAO is finalizing with the Syrian authorities the modalities for the implementation of an $8 million project funded by Russia to rebuild the agricultural sector in the country.
Mr. President,
We continue to advocate for the fact that there is no alternative to an inclusive political process, led and implemented by all Syrians without exception, with support from the UN and in accordance with the letter and the spirit of UNSC resolution 2254. We extend our support for the efforts of UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen. We also deem it important to ensure that the international support for inter-Syrian dialogue be universal in nature. Sidelining any of the leading global and regional players will merely make this process more tenuous and fragile.
We hope for a Syria where no ethnic or religious minorities feel disadvantaged or marginalized and where all groups are adequately represented in the security and governmental bodies – such a Syria will be immune to any attempt to undermine its sovereignty or territorial integrity. At the same time, there can be no room in the country for foreign terrorist fighters whose hands are stained with blood, and these people have nothing to do with the Syrian people. That is a very serious problem, and we do hope that the new Syrian leadership will take vigorous steps to address it.
We reaffirm our country's commitment to developing comprehensive mutually beneficial cooperation with Damascus on all matters on the bilateral agenda in order to reinforce the traditionally friendly Russian-Syrian relations.
We are convinced that the Syrian people will manage to surmount all of the challenges they face. We stand ready to do everything possible to assist them.
Thank you.
