UN Special Envoy for Syria Welcomes Russian Humanitarian Initiative in Syria

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Friday the United Nations welcomed Russian humanitarian initiative in Syria.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday that Moscow and Damascus had launched a joint large-scale humanitarian relief operation in Aleppo, establishing three corridors for civilians and one for militants wishing to lay down arms. He said Russia offered international organizations working in Syria to join this operation.

"As humanitarians, we do welcome any initiative aimed at assisting civilian population in war zones, in conflict zones, particularly in Syria today. We are in principle and we are in practice in favor of humanitarian corridors under the right circumstances that allow the protection of civilians. Therefore we have been studying with great attention and interest the Russian initiative that was sketched yesterday," de Mistura told reporters.

De Mistura called on Russia to leave humanitarian corridors to the UN surveillance.

"I have suggestion…to Russia to actually leave the corridors being established at their initiative to us," de Mistura said.

He stressed the need to prevent any violence in the humanitarian corridors.

"It is imperative that 48-hour posts for humanitarian access that were discussed last week in the Security Council be put in place on a sustainable basis, irrespective of the humanitarian corridors, but particularly and especially if a humanitarian corridor is in place," de Mistura added.