WASHINGTON D.C.
A recently passed United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria might be a “hinge-point” in the Syrian conflict, according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
“This could be a hinge-point in the tortured three years of a Syria crisis bereft of hope,” said Kerry in a statement released to the press Saturday.
“This overdue resolution, if fully implemented, will ensure humanitarian aid reaches people in Syria whose very lives depend on it.”
The resolution, which was passed unanimously after both China and Russia supported its adoption, calls for humanitarian access inside Syria, as well as cross-border access, and an end to the use of barrel bombs. It also threatens “further steps” in the case of non-compliance.
Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Asad, along with China, blocked three previous Security Council resolutions that condemned the Syrian government.
Kerry said that the resolution is only an initial step. “Just as shipments of humanitarian aid mean little without access to the beleaguered areas, resolutions demanding access mean little without full implementation.”
He later said the real test is whether the words of the Security Council are matched with the life-saving actions the Syrian people so desperately and urgently need.”
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will report to the Security Council in 30 days on the resolution's implementation.
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