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Russia official slams US double standards on Syria humanitarian situation

Thursday, 28 July 2016 6:14 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 28 July 2016 6:24 PM ]

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov

The Russian deputy foreign minister slams the US double standard policy toward the humanitarian situation in Syria, saying Washington disregards the condition in government-held regions besieged by the extremists.

The US has demonstrated "a peculiar approach" to the humanitarian situation in the Arab country, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.

"Those areas where people are literally besieged by terrorists - there are no humanitarian problems there. Those areas where Syrian forces carry out their operations immediately turn into humanitarian problems," Ryabkov said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Russian official called on the US-led coalition allegedly fighting against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group to exert pressure on all parties to engage in Syria peace talks rather than extending unilateral ceasefires in the country.

“It is necessary to strengthen the regime of cessation of hostilities and exert real pressure on those who are still not ready for talks, including for direct negotiations with the Syrian government - pressure from Washington, from other Western capitals, from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, from all those who are part of the US-led coalition," Ryabkov said.

The cessation of hostilities brokered by the US and Russia went into effect in Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to Daesh and the Nusra Front terror groups.

Despite the truce, fighting rages on in some parts of Syria, particularly around the city of Aleppo.

People inspect damage at a site after it was hit by shelling carried out by militants at Syrian government-held areas of Aleppo in this handout picture provided by Syria’s SANA news agency on July 11, 2016. ©Reuters

Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011.

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

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