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| Russia's envoy to United Nations Vitaly Churkin [FILE PHOTO] |
New York: UN Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin has said that the Security
Council members were expecting a statement by the Syrian government,
"maybe tomorrow", about their positive attitude towards the
initiative of the Special Representative
Talking to reporters outside Council, Churkin expressed his
hope that a similar attitude would be displayed "both in statements and in
practice by all others who are involved in the conflict, by opposition,
political groups, opposition armed groups so that we could have that seize fire
and cessation of violence".
Asked whether the Syrian authorities had indicated to Russia
whether they would accept the ceasefire, Churkin said, "yes they have. We
have had indications that they are accepting the proposal of Mr. Brahimi. Well
we'll hear their statement as we were led to believe tomorrow".
Commenting on the possibility or a spillover of the crisis,
Churkin said the best way to prevent that was "to put an end to the
crisis. Put an end to the violence".
More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in
Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 20 months
ago. A further 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, and over
340,000 have crossed the border to Syria's neighbouring countries, according to
UN estimates.
Last week, while in Tehran, Joint Special Representative
Brahimi had appealed to Iranian authorities to assist in achieving a ceasefire
in Syria during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, underscoring that
such a move, during one of the holiest holidays celebrated by Muslims around
the world, would help create an environment that would allow a political
process to develop.
Taking place on Friday, the religious observance of Eid
al-Adha – or the Feast of the Sacrifice – commemorates the willingness of
Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. -UNifeed