United Nations, New York, USA, February 26 2016 – Francois Delattre, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations during the Security Council adoption of resolution 2268 (2016), endorsing the cessation of hostilities in Syria today at the UN Headquarters in New York. Photo by: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire
United Nations, February 26 2016
The United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously adopted resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities and a grant for access to humanitarian workers to ease the suffering of the people in Syria.
The resolution, which takes effect at midnight, Damascus time, comes after five years of conflict and includes all parties to the conflict excluding Daesh and Jahbat an-Nusra.
Addressing delegates in the Council from Geneva, the UN special envoy for Syria Stephan de Mistura said that “Saturday will be critical” and added that “no doubt there will be no shortage of attempts to undermine this process.”
De Mistura said “in all cessation of hostilities I have seen in any type of conflict that I have been part of, and certainly in this one which has been and is probably one of the worst we have seen in a generation, there is a high chances that we should expect some hiccups that needs of adjustment and tensions and incidents. The important point that we need to see is, if those incidents will be quickly brought under control and contained. That is going to be the test”.
The Special Envoy added that “the first report I got about midnight zero three was that suddenly both Daria and Damascus had calmed down suddenly. Having said that, I did see a tentative report which came in about one incident. Now we are investigating that and asking for more information.“
United Nations, New York, USA, February 26 2016 – Samantha Power, United States Permanent Representative to the UN during the Security Council adoption of resolution 2268 (2016), endorsing the cessation of hostilities in Syria today at the UN Headquarters in New York. Photo by: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire
The Special Envoy said “we are now at a crossroads and we have the possibility to turn the page in the Syrian conflict after almost 5 years of one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent years. It is potentially, a historic junction, to bring an end to the killing and destruction and to start a new life and new hope for the Syrians.”
Following the unanimous vote, US ambassador Samantha Power said that “this resolution endorses a set of practical concrete steps along with terms to which the parties to the conflict much commit to reduce the violence and create space for a long overdue political transition.”
United Nations, New York, USA, February 26 2016 – Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov during the Security Council adoption of resolution 2268 (2016), endorsing the cessation of hostilities in Syria today at the UN Headquarters in New York. Photo by: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire
For his part, Russian Ambassador Gennady Gatilov expressed said he hoped that the United Nations “will be impartial and principled in its support of this process.”
De Mistura announced that the Intra-Syrian talks will begin again on 7 March.
Source: EuropaNewswire, UNTV