"I welcome the fact that there has been significant calm in many areas of Syria - especially relative to the apexes of violence of previous years", Pedersen said. "But this is an uneasy and fragile calm in both north-west and north-east Syria. And there is the constant risk of escalation in Syria".
Pedersen noted that the level of incidents in northwest Syria has been low after the ceasefire arrangements agreed to between Russia and Turkey came into being.
In addition, the Daesh* terror group has re-emerged in the desert areas in central and eastern Syria, Pedersen added.
All relevant parties should respond to the threats posed by terrorist groups in a cooperative and targeted manner to prevent risking the existing calm as well as to enable a response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS, IS, ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in Russia
