RIA Novosti: Foreign minister explains Russia’s opposition to humanitarian corridors in Syria

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, November 18, 2013) Moscow fears that the Syrian opposition would receive weapons through humanitarian corridors, should they be created, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The Syrian opposition earlier spoke of the need to open humanitarian corridors through the territories under Syrian government control as a condition for taking part in the Geneva-2 international conference on Syria.

“Practice shows that practically in all cases when these corridors were created, not only humanitarian aid but also weapons, money and other forms of support for opponents of the regime went through them. Incidentally, corridors to supply detachments of militants with everything they need already exist. They have been utilized: had this not been so, the militants would have been left drained long ago. But they have things to fight with – the reserves are being replenished,” he said in an interview to [government-owned Russian newspaper] Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

In Lavrov’s words, the standards of international humanitarian law require humanitarian aid to be supplied solely through the channels of the government of the relevant country.

“Even if one puts this aside, I have a very simple question for the initiators of opening these corridors: you supply weapons and ammunition, and at the same time you lament the fact that no humanitarian aid is coming to the areas occupied by the militants, and civilians suffer. Well then, send humanitarian aid through these same corridors,” the Russian foreign minister said, noting at the same time that this would be in breach of the international humanitarian law because the government would not be involved in the process.

“But if you are already breaching international rules anyway as regards the ban on supplying armaments to non-state players in conflict zones, then do not reproach the international community for inaction in humanitarian assistance to these areas. They are, after all, the areas that you control,” Lavrov added.

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