Confronted with shrinking choices and several roadblocks in the way of enforcing a ceasefire in Syria , America’s top diplomat John Kerry has called for an immediate end to airplane flights over besieged areas where people need urgent life-saving supplies.
“I believe that to restore credibility to the process, we must move forward to try to immediately ground all aircraft flying in those key areas in order to de-escalate the situation and give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded,” he said at the United Nations.
“And if that happens, there is a chance of giving credibility back to this process,” Kerry added, speaking at the UN Security Council session on crisis in Syria.
Kerry spoke in the wake of deadly bombings and attack on an aid convey, which killed 20 civilians and workers trying to take supplies to besieged Syrians. Meanwhile, in Aleppo citizens hiding from Bashar al Assad’s bombardment remain without essential food and medicine.
Kerry, who had invested much effort in bringing about a ceasefire agreement with Russia, the other international group leader on Syria, called for efforts by everyone to restore hope for peace. The parties appeared to be observing the ceasefire this month but Assad’s forces bombed Aleppo and attacks on aid convoys – denied by the Syrian regime and Russia – outraged the international community.
The chief US diplomat called the current situation a moment of truth for the world.
“The primary question is no longer: What do we know? The primary question is: Collectively, what are we going to do about it? In other words, this is a moment of truth. It’s a moment of truth for President Putin and Russia; it’s a moment of truth also for the opposition; and it’s a moment of truth for the people who support the opposition. And for too long, some elements of the opposition have relied on an unholy alliance with al-Nusrah, and al-Nusrah is al-Qaida – al-Qaida’s branch in Syria – and we can’t look the other way if groups are on the ground fighting alongside al-Nusrah, an organization that overtly rejects a political solution to this crisis and is an enemy of all of us in this room. So it’s a moment of truth for the international community too. Okay?
“If we allow spoilers to choose the path for us – the path of escalation – if we decide not to do what it takes to make this work, this cessation of hostilities, then make no mistake, my friends, the next time we convene here, we’re going to be facing a Middle East with even more refugees, with more dead, with more displaced, with more extremists, and more suffering on an even greater scale. That is a certainty.
“There is only one choice, and it’s to get to that table with Staffan de Mistura and it is get to a negotiation and get a ceasefire so we stop the flow of refugees, stop the suffering, and provide the people of Syria with a chance to breathe, to live,” he added.
Five years of conflict in Syria has killed around half a million people, driven out a large part of the population as refugees and given rise to a massive humanitarian disaster, refugee crisis, and provided space to terrorist organizations including ISIS, al-Nusrah and Hezbollah to inflict violence and death on Syrians as proxies, backed by regional and international players, continue to destroy of what is left of the Arab country.
Meanwhile, Assad continues to cling to power – mainly due to support of his Iranian and Russian backers- and now analysts believe that a military solution must involve an end to indiscriminate airstrikes on besieged areas as well as actions against terror groups.
Yet, a painful political settlement that must involve exit of Assad, would be another long testing process for the world, even as it struggles to cope with repercussions of the Syrian imbroglio.
