1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections
Politics

No UN deal on temporary ceasefire in Syria

February 23, 2018

Many UN Security Council members have been pushing for a quick deal to temporarily halt fighting in the country. Hundreds have died this week in what a UN official called a predictable and preventable disaster.

https://p.dw.com/p/2tBW1
A boy being carried by a White Helmet civilian rescuer in eastern Ghouta
Image: picture-alliance/AP/Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets

Russia told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that there was still no agreement on a 30-day UN ceasefire in Syria.

Most Security Council members have been urging a vote on the proposal, which has languished since February 9, amid fierce fighting in the opposition-held enclave of eastern Ghouta.

Read more: UN pleads for ceasefire in Syria's Ghouta as over 300 dead in strikes

What happened?

  • Sweden and Kuwait, who had jointly proposed the ceasefire in early February, called for a vote on the most recent draft. Fighting would have been stopped 72 hours after a vote and aid deliveries and medical evacuations would have started 48 hours thereafter.
  • But Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the text was "absolutely unrealistic," adding that implementing a ceasefire was a "complex process" that "cannot be imposed by a Security Council resolution."
  • Nebenzia proposed new amendments. They included wording that would allow aid deliveries to only take place "as security conditions permit" and allow "foreign military forces" to "operate in Syria only in coordination with its official authorities," according to the AFP news agency. 
  • Ahead of the Council meeting, UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock called the dire situation in eastern Ghouta "a living example of an entirely known, predictable, and preventable humanitarian disaster unfolding before our eyes." He added that less than 2 percent of the besieged population has received aid since Dec. 1.

Read more: Which rebel groups are fighting in Syria's eastern Ghouta?

What were the reactions?

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Russia's action was "a good reminder that Russia bears a unique responsibility for what is taking place" in Syria. Referencing Russia's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, she added, "Without Russian backing Syria, the devastation and the deaths would certainly not be occurring."

The German Foreign Ministry said the lack of agreement was "not understandable." Berlin said Russia had "once again protected the Assad regime amid severe breaches of international law." 
Read more: Merkel calls for European response to Syria

Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog said, "We are trying to find a way forward." He added he was "leaning towards a vote" on Friday after the Council had examined Russia's proposed amendments.

Read more: What foreign powers want from the Syrian war

Aid worker helps woman in Eastern Ghouta
Eastern Ghouta has witnessed a spike in violence since the government bombing campaign startedImage: Reuters/B.Khabieh

Why this matters: The increasing death toll and heavy casualties in the eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, led many Council members and international aid groups to push for a quick vote. Incessant government airstrikes backed by Russia have killed some 400 people in less than a week, according to UN figures.

Previous concessions to Russia: Council members agreed to change an earlier version of the text last week to allow fighting to continue against the "Islamic State" and al-Qaida.

Billboard protest: Ahead of the meeting, demonstrators put up three billboards opposite the UN building in New York that together read: "500,000 dead in Syria and still no action? How come, Security Council? #SaveGhouta"

amp/sms (dpa, AFP)