Putin urges global community to pitch in to demine Syria and provide humanitarian aid

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that all countries should join the process of providing humanitarian assistance to Syria and demining efforts in that country. A pressing task today is increasing the supply of humanitarian aid and demining the liberated territories”, the head of state said at the presentation of foreign ambassadors’ credentials ceremony. According to the Russian president, “everyone who sincerely wishes peace to Syria and its people, who sincerely wants refugees to return to their homes should join these processes with the leading role played by the UN and without any preconditions”. Putin recalled that the agreements on four de-escalation zones in Syria reached with the participation of the guarantor countries – Russia, Iran and Turkey – had been finalized in the Astana format recently and supported by many other countries. He stressed that “these agreements create conditions for making progress in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2254 on the basis of a direct dialogue between the government and the opposition, pooling efforts in the interests of eliminating the hotbed of terrorism at an early date, establishing peace and preserving Syria’s unity”. The Russian leader noted that “the process in the capital of Kazakhstan is to create favorable conditions for approaching a political settlement within the framework of the Geneva talks”.