Russian attempt to blacklist Syria’s Islamist rebels blocked

Russian attempt to blacklist Syria’s Islamist rebels blocked
Britain, France, the United States and Ukraine on Tuesday blocked a Russian request to add two Syrian opposition groups, Jaysh al-Isla and Ahrar al-Sham, to a UN terror blacklist and sideline them from the Syrian peace process, diplomats said.

Adding names to the UN sanctions list requires a consensus decision from the 15-member Security Council and after objections were raised by the four countries, Russia’s request was rejected, The New Arab reported.

"Russia publicly attempting to designate groups that are parties to the cessation of hostilities could have damaging consequences to the cessation just as we are trying to de-escalate the situation on the ground," said a spokesperson for the US mission to the United Nations.

"Now is not the time to shift course, but rather double-down on our efforts toward a reduction in violence."

Jaysh al-Islam is a member of the Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC) that is taking part in negotiations in Geneva to end the five-year war in Syria.

Ahrar al-Sham is among the most powerful opposition groups in Syria.

The dispute over the sanctions list came amid word from Moscow Tuesday that the 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG) would meet in Vienna on 17 May to try to get peace efforts back on track.

An attempt last year by the ISSG to come up with a single list of "terrorist" groups in Syria fell apart after scores of names were submitted from all sides.

It is worth noting that Assad regime has consistently branded all its opponents - armed or not - "terrorists" since the outbreak of war in 2011.

التعليقات (0)

    0

    الأكثر قراءة

    💡 أهم المواضيع

    ✨ أهم التصنيفات