February 25, 2018•Update: February 25, 2018
By Zuhal Demirci
ANKARA
Turkey on Saturday welcomed the UN Security Council decision for a 30-day cease-fire in Syria.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in Syria "without delay".
"We welcome today’s decision of the UN Security Council to end the conflicts without delay and to call for a humanitarian ceasefire for at least 30 days, in order to allow access to emergency humanitarian aid and medical evacuations in the wake of the worsening humanitarian situation in Syria, particularly Eastern Ghouta," the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a written statement.
"Since the beginning Turkey made an effort to end the conflict and to reduce the tension in every platform and supported the international community in their steps in this regard. The six observation points we have established in İdlib until today are a concrete manifestation of our efforts," it added.
Aksoy said that Turkey expressed its concern on the worsening humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta and called for an end to the increasing violations of the regime.
"On this matter we shared our concerns with the regime’s guarantors Russia and Iran, stating that the regime's attacks on civilians and the violation of the ceasefire led to the interruption of our common efforts in the de-escalation zones," it added.
Aksoy said that providing uninterrupted humanitarian assistance is a requirement of international law.
He stated that Turkey 'fully supports' the UNSC decision on completely implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 2268.
The statement said that Turkey will continue its humanitarian support to the Syrians and support the efforts of the international community, particulary the UN in this regard.
"On the other hand Turkey will continue its efforts to end the dispute which lies at the root of the humanitarian crisis in Syria and will continue its efforts in fighting terrorist organizations which endanger Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity," the statement added.
The resolution, prepared by Sweden and Kuwait, was adopted after several delays, as council members tried to convince Russia, a strong advocate of the Assad regime.
The Eastern Ghouta suburb has been under siege for the last five years and humanitarian access to the area, which is home to 400,000 people, has been completely cut off.
In the past eight months, forces of the Assad regime have intensified their siege, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to get into the district, leaving thousands of patients in need of treatment.
According to the White Helmets civil defense agency, regime attacks have killed 389 people in Eastern Ghouta in the past six days.
Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.
According to UN officials, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict to date.
