An angry Secretary of State John Kerry called on Russia and Syria to stop flying aircraft in Syria so that humanitarian aid can reach people in need, a day after the U.S.-Russia brokered cease-fire fell apart with the bombing of humanitarian infrastructure.
“We must move forward to try to immediately ground all aircraft flying in those key areas in order to de-escalate the situation and give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded,” Kerry said at the United Nations in New York.
“And if that happens, there’s a chance of giving credibility back to this process,” he said.
Kerry called out both Russia and Syria for once again failing to meet the terms of the latest cease-fire, and said there is no one else to blame for the attacks.
“Last night we have reports of air strikes that hit a medical facility near Aleppo, and four aid workers were killed, despite the fact there is supposed to be a cessation,” Kerry said.
“There are only two countries that have airplanes that are flying during the night, or flying at all in that particular area: Russia and Syria,” he said.
Kerry’s tough message follows the latest failure to bring peace to Syria for even a short time, which the U.S. hopes can be followed by a period of political negotiation to end the bloody Syrian civil war. The U.S. has blamed Russia for months for failing to adhere to any of the cease-fire attempts, and Kerry said after hearing Russia speak at the UN, he felt he was living in a “parallel universe.”
Russia’s representative said there should be no preconditions for peace in Syria, but Kerry said ending the attacks was something all sides said they agreed to more than once.
Kerry’s call for an end to all flights above Syria comes weeks after the Obama administration’s Defense Department was insisting hey wanted less flights in the region, but refused to call it a no-fly zone.
Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook insisted in August that, “It’s not a no-fly zone, but I would just again reiterate… that the Syrian regime would be wise to avoid areas where coalition forces have been operating. And we will continue to defend them and if need be we will send aircraft again to defend our forces.”
