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18Dec16
Russia not to support France initiative to send monitoring mission to Aleppo
France's initiative to send a monitoring mission to Eastern Aleppo is unrealizable and dangerous, Russia cannot let a relevant United Nations Security Council resolution be passed, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Sunday.
"We believe quite simply that what they are proposing is unworkable and dangerous," he told journalists ahead of a Security Council meeting. "This idea that there must be immediate deployments of unprepared UN personnel into the danger zone of Eastern Aleppo is prone to cause disaster. We are very concerned about possible provocations and they of course would lead to further aggravation of the entire situation."
"We cannot support it, we cannot allow it to pass," he stressed.
He said that the French delegation has amended the document at Russia's request but these were secondary corrections "and unfortunately the core problem remains there."
According to Churkin, Russia believes it is necessary to hold a serious discussion at the United Nations Security Council before voting the draft. "I do feel that we have similar goals as far as the humanitarian situation is concerned in and around Aleppo and in Syria, but we need to discuss how those goals can be more effectively addressed," he said.
The Russian diplomat noted that Moscow would be ready to support the ised of a monitoring mission in Aleppo if it is properly organized. "We have no problem whatsoever with any kind of monitoring," he said. "But the idea that they should be told to go to wander around the ruins of Eastern Aleppo without proper preparation and without informing everybody about what is going to happen... this has disaster written all over it. This is a provocation, I hope this is not an intentional provocation."
He said that Russian has some ideas of how to organize monitoring of the situation in Aleppo. "We have some simple ideas and if they support these very simple ideas we could have a proper resolution adopted today," he added.
France's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Francois Delattre said earlier that his country will put the document for voting despite Russia's objections. Paris, in his words, is not going to compromise on it as it has already incorporated Russia-initiated amendments. "This draft is already an outcome of negotiotions that I personally led with my colleague Vitaly Churkin," he said. "If you ask me whether there is still room for compromise, honestly, I don't think so."
The France-initiated draft resolution calls on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to entrust UN employees who are already in Aleppo to monitor evacuation of civilians. The French envoy said that if the Security Council fails to pass this resolution, Western countries will call a special session of the United Nations General Assembly to pass this resolution under the Uniting-for-Peace formula adopted in 1950 which recommends countries to take collective efforts in the interests of peace as the Security Council is unable to fulfil its tasks.
[Source: Itar Tass, United Nations, 18Dec16]
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