Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Moscow, SANA-The Russian Defense Ministry affirmed on Thursday that the humanitarian pause in Aleppo will be constructive when a real assistance can be provided to civilians and terrorists are prevented from exploiting it to regroup their forces.
“Humanitarian pauses are, certainly, necessary. However, we believe that to prolong these pauses thus giving terrorists a perfect opportunity to restore their combat capability would be counterproductive and illogical,” Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
He added that to prolong the humanitarian pause without providing a real assistance to the civilian population would be counterproductive and contrary to common sense.
He revealed that the Russian envoy to Geneva had received on November 7th a letter from Jan Egeland, a top UN adviser for humanitarian issues in Syria, requesting to extend the duration of humanitarian pause in Aleppo in the future, adding that the request includes new suggestions.
He pointed out that it seems every time a truce is being requested as a way to try to find a new reason to obstruct the delivery of UN aid to the city of Aleppo, noting that the Russian Coordination Center delivered more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid to Aleppo during the past months.
He said that the Russian side was informing UN officials about the time of the humanitarian truce, the situation of corridors set up for civilians and gunmen to exit, and the number of buses, ambulances, nutrition centers and security measures, adding all the preparations for the truce were happening under the watchful eye the officials of the UN and other international organizations.
Manar al-Frieh/Manal
