UN, Syria slam politicizing humanitarian aid response
The United Nations and Syria have condemned attempts by certain parties to politicize the humanitarian response to the massive earthquake that caused tremendous destruction in the northwestern provinces of the war-ravaged country.
Nations must “depoliticize” the humanitarian response for victims of the February 6 earthquake in Syria, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday, according to Press TV.
It is not the time “to play politics with crossings across borders or front lines … this is not the time for military action or violence,” Pedersen said.
He made clear that the situation is “unsustainable,” and the status quo is “totally unacceptable.”
Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Bassam al-Sabbagh, also stressed that the Damascus government strongly opposes the efforts to politicize humanitarian aid response to quake victims.
“International efforts to address repercussions of the earthquake must now focus on reconstruction of the essential infrastructure and repair of the damage that utilities have suffered,” Sabbagh noted.
He added that Damascus spares no effort to provide relief aid to people in quake-hit areas in northwestern Syria.