UN Security Council Emergency Meeting Becomes Scene of U.S. Attack on Russia in Syria

Feb. 7, 2020 (EIRNS)—At the behest of the United States, Britain and France, the UN Security Council held another “emergency” meeting on Syria yesterday, to discuss the situation in Idlib. It heard from both UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen and UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock. Together, Pedersen and Lowcock painted a picture of a humanitarian disaster in Idlib province resulting from the Syrian Army offensive. But beyond their description of the humanitarian situation in Idlib, the UN Security Council appears to have become a platform for the U.S. and its partners to attack Russia’s involvement in Syria, which characteristic was observed by the Russian side itself.

U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft delivered a bloodcurdling speech in which she accused the Syrian government, Russia, Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah of pursuing “deliberate, lethal violence against thousands of innocent children, women, and men,” the only purpose of which is “terrorize and subdue.” The U.S. message, therefore, is that “The situation in northwest Syria demands an immediate, comprehensive, and verifiable ceasefire.” The Astana process of Russia, Iran, and Turkey, therefore, “cannot be trusted to deliver such a ceasefire” because “it is Russian warplanes that have routinely terminated Russian-brokered ‘ceasefires,’ ” she charged.

Russian UN permanent representative Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the U.S. accusations as hypocritical. “All special meetings have a somewhat familiar pattern,” Nebenzia said. “For some reason they are convened at the moment when terrorists in Syria are under threat, and the Syrian government reinstalls control over its national territory.” After detailing the activities of the Hayat Tahrir al Sham terrorists that control Idlib province, Nebenzia ridiculed those among Western states who regard HTS as “moderate opposition,” including “those officials who convened this meeting,” he said.

Nebenzia also reminded those who accuse Russia of barbarity, of how, in the name of fighting terrorism, the U.S. military turned the cities of Raqqa and Mosul into rubble. And yet never once did the UNSC convene an emergency meeting on the U.S.-led assaults on those cities. Similar stories, Nebenzia noted, come from Somalia and Afghanistan.

“However, as long as no action is taken on those numerous incidents, and those who have let those incidents happen live being guided by an Orwell formula ‘all are equal before the law, but some are more equal than the others,’ any criticism addressed to Russia is a mere farce.”

Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari stressed that Syria won’t hesitate to carry out its sovereign right to liberate Idlib and every inch of the Syrian territory from the control of terrorist organizations, as was the case when liberating Homs, east Aleppo city, eastern Ghouta, just east of Damascus, and others areas.