President Obama and five other foreign leaders called Wednesday for an immediate cease-fire in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo and a United Nations investigation of alleged war crimes under the regimeof Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“We condemn the actions of the Syrian regime and its foreign backers, especially Russia, for their obstruction of humanitarian aid, and strongly condemn the Syrian regime’s attacks that have devastated civilians and medical facilities …,” Obama and the leaders of Germany, Britain, Italy, France and Canada said in a joint statement.
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“We urge all parties in Syria to adhere to international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions,” they added, noting that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has “spoken of war crimes being committed in Syria.”
The six world leaders also said they are prepared to consider “additional restrictive measures against individuals or entities that act for or on behalf of the Syrian regime” if human rights violations continue to occur.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday the purpose of the joint statement was to demonstrate “clear, unified, international support” for an arrangement that would reduce casualties in Aleppo and enable the provision of additional humanitarian aid.
“The urgent need now is for an immediate cease-fire to allow the United Nations to get humanitarian assistance to people in eastern Aleppo and to provide humanitarian relief to those who have fled eastern Aleppo,” the leaders said, imploring the Assad regime to agree to an existing four-point plan developed by the U.N.
Earnest said Russia “bears a special responsibility” to move the agreement forward because it has been an ally to the Syrian regime, though Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution earlier this week that would have implemented a seven-day cease-fire in Aleppo.
