Syria welcomes UNSC aid access resolution

Select Bitrate200 Kbps300 Kbps500 Kbps700 Kbps800 Kbps

Sun Feb 23, 2014 6:45PM GMT

1

11

 

1

 

Download | Embed

Related Interviews:

• 'US-led groups will not bring democracy'
• 'World must slam terror acts in Syria'

Related Viewpoints:

• Rethinking Russia, Iran support for Assad

Syria has welcomed a resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanding humanitarian aid convoys be allowed to access Syrian civilians trapped in the conflict.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced its readiness to cooperate with international humanitarian organizations to implement the resolution, official SANA news agency reported.

The statement added that Damascus would continue its cooperation as long as the operations are non-political and transparent and the Arab country’s sovereignty is respected.

The root causes of the humanitarian crisis in Syria that stems from foreign-backed terrorism and sanctions imposed on the Arab country must be dealt with, the statement further said.

The UN resolution which was adopted on Saturday urged “all parties” to “allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for UN humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, including across conflict lines and across borders, in order to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches people in need through the most direct routes."

It also called for an end to violence against Syrian civilians.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for quick implementation of the resolution, saying, "If this resolution is implemented quickly and in good faith, at least some of the suffering can be eased."

Many civilians have been living under dire humanitarian conditions without access to food and medical aid as fighting rages on across the country.

The UN and Syria's Red Crescent began operations to evacuate trapped civilians and deliver aid inside besieged parts of the Syrian city of Homs on February 7.

The operations have led to the evacuation of some 1,400 civilians from Homs, as part of a UN-brokered ceasefire between Damascus and foreign-backed militants.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011.

MR/PR

News | 24.02.2014 | 01:01

Syria has welcomed a resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanding humanitarian aid convoys be allowed to access Syrian civilians trapped in the conflict. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced its readiness to cooperate with international humanitarian organizations to implement the resolution, official SANA news agency reported. The statement added that Damascus would continue its cooperation as long as the operations are non-political and transparent and the Arab country’s sovereignty is respected. The root causes of the humanitarian crisis in Syria that stems from foreign-backed terrorism and sanctions imposed on the Arab country must be dealt with, the statement further said. The UN resolution which was adopted on Saturday urged “all parties” to “allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for UN humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, including across conflict lines and across borders, in order to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches people in need through the most direct routes." It also called for an end to violence against Syrian civilians. Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for quick implementation of the resolution, saying, "If this resolution is implemented quickly and in good faith, at least some of the suffering can be eased." Many civilians have been living under dire humanitarian conditions without access to food and medical aid as fighting rages on across the country. The UN and Syria's Red Crescent began operations to evacuate trapped civilians and deliver aid inside besieged parts of the Syrian city of Homs on February 7. The operations have led to the evacuation of some 1,400 civilians from Homs, as part of a UN-brokered ceasefire between Damascus and foreign-backed militants. Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Press TV

Thomas Bach , IOC Head Lauds 'Excellent' Organization of Sochi Games

IOC Head Lauds 'Excellent' Organization of Sochi Games

Topic: 2014 Winter Olympics

IOC Head Lauds 'Excellent' Organization of Sochi Games

© RIA Novosti. Alexey Philippov

19:52 23/02/2014

Tags: 2014 Winter Olympic Games, IOC, Thomas Bach, Sochi

Related News

• RIA Novosti's Work as the Sochi Olympics’ Host National News Agency is Fantastic – IOC
• Sochi Closing Ceremony: A Fresh Look At Russian Culture
• Russia Storms to Summit of Sochi Olympic Medal Table
• Russia's Winter Olympians Have Been a Success in Sochi – Minister
• Two-Time Sochi Champion Trankov to Carry Russian Flag

Multimedia

• Sochi Olympics: Day 16
• Sochi Olympics: Day 15
• Medals of the Sochi Olympics
• Sochi Olympics Medal Count

SOCHI, February 23 (R-Sport) – The organization of the Sochi Games has been "excellent," International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Sunday.

The Sochi Winter Games are the first for Bach since the German ex-fencer was elected IOC head in Spetember 2013.

“We did not only have the best athletes but we're also managing to get more and more athletes from more and more countries to the top and having their excellent performances. This has been enabled by an excellent organization,” Bach said. “I think all the systems here were working extremely well, from transportation to security over the Olympic villages, the food and everything, really excellent.”

As one of the main positive features of the Sochi Olympics, Bach praised the compact layout of the sports facilities and athletes' villages.

“What for me is most important is what the athletes are thinking about these Games ... and I have to tell you there was not a single complaint by any of the athletes,” said Bach. “They loved the sports facilities, the quality of the Olympic villages, and what impressed the most was the proximity of the Olympic villages and their venues.”

© RIA Novosti.

Sochi Olympics Medal Count

The closing ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympic Games will start at the Fisht stadium at 20:14 local time (16:14 GMT).

Elegant Ceremony Bring Winter Olympics to a Close in Sochi

News | 23.02.2014 | 22:07

The Sochi Winter Games closed Sunday with an elegant, and at one point self-effacingly humorous, closing ceremony overseen by President Vladimir Putin and thousands of spectators the Fisht Olympic Stadium. The ceremony began at exactly 20:14 p.m. local time in tribute to the year in which Russia has hosted its first ever Winter Olympic Games. In a nod to the opening ceremony’s much-discussed snow flake glitch, a troupe of dancers who were to form the Olympic rings paused slightly before fanning out to create the fifth hoop. Russian Olympic gold winners carried the national flag into the arena, after which a choir of 1,000 children performed a rousing rendition of the country's anthem. Following the unprecedented disappointment of coming 11th with just three gold medals four years ago in Vancouver, Russia achieved its best ever result in Sochi, winning 33 medals in total, including 13 gold. Putin and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach met shortly before the opening ceremony to congratulate one another on what have been widely hailed as successful Games. RIA Novosti

Russia to back SC UN draft resolution on Syria

Russia's Foreign Ministry: Syria to continue efforts to reach local reconciliation

World

 February 20, 18:40 UTC+4
“The internal opposition plays an important role in this process and mediates and personally guarantees the agreements,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said

EPA/STR

MOSCOW, February 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Syria’s authorities continue efforts aimed at reaching local reconciliation, which will allow them to ease the humanitarian situation in the country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.

INFOGRAPHICSSyrian refugee crisis

Map of Syria and neighboring countries locating area of conflict and refugee camps, includes number of refugees by country. ITAR-TASS infographics

“In compliance with the political and diplomatic settlement of the internal armed conflict the Syrian authorities continue the efforts to reach local reconciliation, which will allow them to ease the humanitarian situation and create an atmosphere for holding a dialogue and uniting all Syrians in order to counter terrorism and local criminal elements,” the spokesman said.

“Many information sources unilaterally cover the situation and very often we cannot feel any progress when the government and the opposition, which gave up armed confrontation, seek to resolve humanitarian issues. This pins hopes that humanitarian problems can be solved if the warring parties show political will,” the diplomat said.

He cited the agreements reached with armed groups in Damascus’ suburbs as an example.

“The internal opposition plays an important role in this process and mediates and personally guarantees the agreements,” he said.

“The work to restore the infrastructure has begun. The population is returning to their homes and lauds the revivals of normal life in these regions,” Lukashevich said.

Russia to back SC UN draft resolution on Syria

Syrian regime holding on to power no reason for terrorism – Lavrov

Russia will back a UN Security Council humanitarian draft resolution on Syria if it really assists to the situation and if it is not politicized, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.

“Russia is working with its partners to make the text of the resolution balanced and to provide real humanitarian aid to Syria,” the spokesman said.

“To this end, we will continue the consultations in the UN Security Council,” he said.

Source :Itar-TAss

US double standard approach to Syria encourages terrorism

World

 February 20, 19:03 UTC+4 

"In private encounters our US partners admit that terrorism is the key threat in Syria, and not Assad’s regime," Russia's minister of foreign affairs noted

EPA/SERGEI CHIRIKOV

BAGDAD, February 20. /ITAR-TASS/. US officials admit in private conversations that Syria’s main threat is terrorism, and not President Bashar Assad’s regime, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Russia's Foreign Ministry: Syria to continue efforts to reach local reconciliation

“We have a range of mechanisms that help us cooperate with the US on many acute issues, including the fight against terrorists,” he said. “Unfortunately, double standards sometimes emerge in our cooperation, and it also happens over the Syrian issue, where our US partners say terrorism will be unbeatable as long as Assad stays in power.”

“In fact, such a position means encouraging extremists, encouraging those who supply weapons to terrorists and ultimately only aggravate the Syrian crisis,” Lavrov believes. “However, in private encounters our US partners admit that terrorism is the key threat in Syria, and not Assad’s regime.”

This understanding, Lavrov added, was achieved at the G8 summit last June when the British prime minister proposed to include in the final declaration the call on the government and the opposition to eradicate terrorism.

“Now we want to see our partners make their high-level statements meet their actions,” Lavrov said.

"Terrorism in Syria poses threat to world order"

The West has an incentive to justify terrorism in Syria by the reason that the regime does not want to disappear, Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on Thursday.

“We’ve submitted our proposals to the UN Security Council. We want the Security Council to adopt a document condemning terrorism in all its manifestations,” Lavrov said, adding that the situation in Syria and terrorism in the region “pose a threat to the world order”.

“The document is being studied by our partners. We disagree with our partners’ position on terrorism. We believe that terrorism cannot be justified,” he said.

“Now the UN Security Council is discussing a resolution on the humanitarian crisis and it includes Russia’s proposals to prevent further escalation of terrorism. We want the Syrian opposition and the government to unite in order to fight the evil,” Lavrov said.

Itartass

Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics Games

EPA/BARBARA WALTON

SOCHI, February 23. /ITAR-TASS/.  The closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics Games in Sochi will make spectators feel tender sadness, the ceremony’s chief creative producer and script author, Konstantin Ernst, told reporters on Sunday.

“The closing ceremony of the Olympics should bring in a feeling of tender sadness,” he said. “The Games become a part of history. Somebody wins, somebody loses. Sochi has brought together the whole world for 17 days, the city has become the center of the universe. Tender sadness is a right tone of the ceremony. We wanted to create this feeling while saying farewell to the Olympic Games.”

Ernst, who is also director general of Russia’s Channel One television, said the choir of children would take part in the closing ceremony.

“The choir consists of 1,000 boys and girls from 83 Russian regions. It will be conducted by Valery Gergiev (artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre),” he said. “Taking part in the closing ceremony will be also Denis Matsuev (famous Russian pianist) and Yuri Bashmet (celebrated Russian conductor and violist).”

Cynical Comments on the OCH (Obama-Cameron-Harper) Doctrine by Wayne Madsen

An Indirect Offensive Strategy against the Obama – Cameron – Harper Doctrine The policy employed by U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the primary agitators behind the violent overthrow of democratically-elected governments around the world, can best be referred to as the OCH (Obama-Cameron-Harper) doctrine. The first country to feel the effect of the OCH doctrine is Ukraine... The fall of Ukraine to neo-Nazis backed by western Ukrainian nationalists and Zionists who rally around the convicted fraudster and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko provided immediate impetus to Venezuelan rightists who began a campaign of violence to force democratically-elected President Nicolas Maduro from office...  Wayne MADSEN | 23.02.2014http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2014/02/23/an-indirect-offensive-strategy-against-obama-cameron-harper-doctrine.html