Russia, Iran Should Ensure Syrian Truce in Line With Astana Talks - Mogherini

"I sent a letter… to the three Astana guarantors, simply reminding them the responsibility to implement their own decisions. The Astana process had brought some hope on the possibility of calming down the situation in terms of military activities but that seems very long ago and that seems gone. And I believe they have not only the responsibility but also an interest in making the ceasefire work, in implementing the latest UN Security Council resolution," Mogherini said at a joint press conference with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

The EU foreign policy chief called on the parties to the Syrian conflict to ensure humanitarian access to the areas hit by hostilities.

"We need the arms to be silent for humanitarian reasons and for political reasons. That is the European Union's position," Mogherini said.

De Mistura echoed Mogherini, saying that the three guarantor states had to do their job — ensure de-scalation of tensions in Syria.

"There is a job that Astana three countries are supposed to do. And they claim they want to do it. That is de-escalation. We have seen recently the opposite — escalation… We expect them to do the job," de Mistura said.

The envoy pointed out that it was impossible to ask the United Nations and the European Union "to do a miracle," while the major actors were not doing their job in a proper way.

Astana has hosted eight rounds of talks on the Syrian settlement with the most recent one held in December. The Astana process gave a fresh impetus to the reconciliation process in Syria, however, the situation in the country significantly escalated within last several months.

Only Goal of French Airstrikes on Syria Was to ‘Label Assad as Enemy’ – MEP

24 April 2018, 13:07 GMT

The situation in Syria seriously escalated over the past several weeks after a number of media outlets and Western countries accused Damascus of using chemical weapons in the town of Douma. The Syrian government and Russia have refuted the allegations, saying that the alleged attack in Duma was staged by militants and the White Helmets organization to influence public opinion and justify possible foreign intervention.

On April 14, the United States, France and the United Kingdom carried out a missile attack on a number of targets in Syria, including the facilities in Barzeh and Jamraya, in response to the alleged attack in Duma. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 103 cruise missiles were launched by the United States and its allies, 71 of which were intercepted by Syria’s air defense systems.