Syria has denounced a United Nations General Assembly resolution that calls for an "immediate" cessation of combat against militants in the Arab country.
Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari adopted the highly critical stance on Friday after the world body voted 122 to 13 in favor of the Canadian-drafted resolution that demands a halt to the government's fight against Takfiri terrorists, humanitarian aid access throughout the country, and an end to all sieges, including in Aleppo, which government forces are poised to fully liberate after making significant gains in recent days.
Iran, Russia, and China were among those who voted against the resolution.
Ja’afari criticized the Canadian delegation and its partners for violating the sovereignty of Syria by calling for holding the session without consulting the Syria delegation, adding that the non-binding resolution was politicized and violated the UN Charter.
“Before calling for holding this meeting and submitting the draft resolution, the Canadian delegation and its partners should have listened to the harrowing accounts about the crimes of terrorist organizations that were told by tens of thousands of our people who were saved by the Syrian army and its allies in Aleppo during the past few days,” Ja’afari added.
He further said that the measure would not dissuade the Syrian government and its allies from continuing to combat terrorism, vowing to take control of the whole northwestern city very soon.
“I would like to reassure the states that sponsor terrorism in Aleppo that the Syrian army has up to this point liberated 93% of the areas that terrorists used to control in Aleppo city, and their bloody games is taking its last breaths,” Ja’afari added.
Addressing the “sponsors” of terrorism, the Syrian envoy also said that “their bloody terrorist game in Syria and in Aleppo is over.”
Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, has been a frontline battleground since 2012, when foreign-backed terrorists captured the city's eastern part.
‘One-sided’ resolution disregards crisis root causes: Iran
Iran’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN Gholam Hossein Dehqani also denounced the resolution as "one-sided", saying the international community must first address the root causes of the Syrian crisis.
The resolution is a “one-sided document and divorced from the reality on the ground in Syria, the Iranian ambassador said.
Dehqani reiterated that certain foreign countries are responsible for the current situation in the Middle Eastern country by sponsoring the terrorists. He also said that since the beginning of the nearly six-year-old crisis, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been delivering humanitarian aid to desperate Syrian people through its Red Crescent Society, and will continue to do so in future.
The resolution asks the UN secretary general to report on its implementation in 45 days and present recommendations "on ways and means to protect civilians."
Russia and Syria oppose lengthy pauses in the Aleppo battle, arguing that Takfiri militants may take advantage of the situation and rebuild their strength. Moscow also insists that all militants operating in eastern Aleppo must leave the area as part of any truce deal, saying those who refuse to do so would be regarded as terrorists.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin also censured the West for its sanctions against Syria, saying, "You are slowly asphyxiating the population you ardently claim to care about."
Moscow is engaged in an aerial campaign against Takfiri terrorists in Syria since September 2015, at the official request of the Syrian government.
The foreign-backed conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people since 2011, according to an estimate by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.
