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Author : Gennady Gatilov
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation
THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS in the Syrian Arab Repub-
lic, which has resulted from a protracted civil conflict in that
country, can be described as the most wide-ranging in modern
history. Here are just a few figures standing behind which are
human lives and fates.
The conflict in Syria has acquired a pointedly interfaith char-
acter: the Islamic State (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN),* as
well as illegal armed formations the absolute majority of their
members being jihadists, profess radical Islamism and are doing all they can to destroy the cen-
turiesold traditions of peaceful coexistence between various ethnic groups and confessions.
Unfortunately, neither large-scale military operations nor the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria
could unite the international community in a joint effort to help the people in need. The princi-
ples of humanism and compassion were pushed to the sidelines.
The West made several attempts to involve others in its unseemly game but all of those attempts
were firmly rebuffed by Russia, which was supported by China.
It was obvious that the new UN Security Council resolution would not help international aid
operations in Syria. Those operations went along anyway, but in order to facilitate aid deliveries
there was no need to adopt new documents at the Security Council. Instead of that consistent
and patient work was necessary to get the Syrian sides to cooperate with international aid agen-
cies.
Since the outset of the crisis, Russia has been providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian
people. Importantly, this assistance has never been predicated on any preconditions or on the
political situation of the moment. Humanitarian assistance is provided to all those in need re-
gardless of political preferences, religion, ethnicity or residence.
The whole story of the humanitarian "dimension" of the Syrian conflict and the international
community's cooperation on humanitarian issues in Syria has shown that Russia remains in fact
the only state that is committed to resolving the concrete problems related to ensuring human-
itarian access.
The politicization of humanitarian issues, confrontation, and attempts to demonize the legitimate
government - none of this will help resolve concrete tasks, but only hurts the UN and adversely
affects the political atmosphere. And of course, this will not bring a political settlement of the
long-running conflict in Syria any closer.
Электронное приложение к журналу «
Международная жизнь
»
International Affairs: Summary№6, 2016
The Humanitarian Crisis in Syria: How Human Tragedies Are
Used for Political Purposes