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Kerry calls on Russia to stop bombing Syrian civilians and let aid get through U.S. adds nearly $1 billion to Syrian aid as conference weighs long-term needs
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — Secretary of State John F. Kerry called on Russia Thursday to halt bombing areas of Syria where civilian casualties are high and ensure humanitarian aid gets through. LONDON — Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Thursday said the United States would send more than $900 million in humanitarian and development aid to Syria and its neighbors burdened with a refu­gee crush that could take years to ease.
In remarks to reporters while standing alongside British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Kerry said he had spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov since Syrian peace talks in Geneva were paused Wednesday before they even got off the ground. In a sum that is likely to swell as the year goes on, Kerry said $600 million will go to the United Nations and other agencies for emergency food, shelter and health in Syria and neighboring countries, where millions of refugees have fled. Much of the rest will go to provide schooling for refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon.
Kerry said Lavrov had “agreed we need to discuss” how to implement a cease-fire and get the Syrian government and opposition to allow humanitarian access to besieged areas. About a quarter of all U.S. humanitarian aid last year was tied to the Syrian war, which grew out of anti-government protests in 2011. According to State Department calculations, the latest donation brings U.S. total funding to $5.1 billion, the largest of any country by far.
Kerry characterized the delay in the Geneva talks as only temporary, and declared, “We will, I am confident, find a way to move forward.” [Kerry’s appeal: Let aid through to Syrians]
Hammond said the diplomats from 79 countries at the humanitarian aid donors conference are all “very keen to keep the momentum going” in the talks. The conference on Syrian aid efforts — the first since refugees began spreading across Europe last year — is overshadowed by the sudden suspension of Geneva peace talks that seemed to offer the best hope of bringing an end to the fighting in Syria.
A “pause” in the talks was called until at least Feb. 25 after the opposition and government delegations failed to agree on conditions required to get them started.
In a speech to diplomats from 79 countries attending the conference, Kerry characterized the stumble in the talks as a “temporary recess.” He predicted talks would resume later this month.
As a precondition for negotiations, the opposition has insisted on a halt to the bombing of civilian areas by Russian warplanes and the Syrian government it backs. it also demanded that sieges be lifted to allow humanitarian access.
Kerry adopted an identical stance Thursday.
In remarks to reporters, Kerry said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had “agreed we need to discuss” how to implement a cease-fire and get the Syrian government and the opposition to allow humanitarian access to besieged areas.
“We will, I am confident, find a way to move forward,” said Kerry, standing alongside British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.
[Syrian peace talks hit roadblock even before they really begin]
Hammond said the diplomats at the donor conference are all “very keen to keep the momentum going” in the talks, and suggested there is no better option on the table.
“We recognize it’s difficult for the regime to be at the table talking to the opposition,” he said. “It’s difficult for the opposition to talk to the regime when their people at home are being killed through bombing and other forms of attack.“We recognize it’s difficult for the regime to be at the table talking to the opposition,” he said. “It’s difficult for the opposition to talk to the regime when their people at home are being killed through bombing and other forms of attack.
“But we have to continue this process. It’s the only way to get a solution to the disaster that is engulfing Syria.”“But we have to continue this process. It’s the only way to get a solution to the disaster that is engulfing Syria.”
The talks were suspended Wednesday after opposition and government delegations failed to agree on the conditions required to get them started. The delay in peace talks underscored how the lengthy Syrian war shows no signs of easing.
Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy who is shepherding the talks, said he called for a “temporary pause” until at least Feb. 25. Three previous pledging conferences, all held in Kuwait, have raised about half of what was sought for Syria and its burdened neighbors. This fourth conference has drawn several European countries as hosts, and delegates appear to be more resigned to the long road ahead.
In a statement to reporters, de Mistura appeared to sympathize with the opposition’s insistence that the bombing of civilian areas by Russia and the Syrian government it backs must stop and that sieges must be lifted to allow humanitarian access before the talks could start. “The talks would not be meaningful unless they were also accompanied by immediate, tangible benefits for the Syrian people,” he said. “There is also the realization the Syria crisis is a protracted emergency, and requires more than humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict,” said a senior administration official, speaking anonymously under State Department ground rules.
De Mistura also said he had called on the governments backing the talks, including the United States and Russia, to implement the steps required to allow negotiations to begin. [Cut off by conflict: Syrian face starvation]
The new date to reconvene the talks is after the next meeting of those governments, scheduled for Feb. 11 in Munich. There, the international backers of negotiations are scheduled to assess progress and decide what other steps need to be taken. Much of the discussion has revolved around getting humanitarian aid to refugees and the displaced, who together number 17 million. Also discussed were efforts to expand jobs and schools.
Late Wednesday in London, Kerry scrambled to rearrange his day after the delay of the talks. He quickly blamed the delay on the Syrian government and its Russian backers. Officials say they are needed not only for refugees but for citizens of the neighboring host countries that are bending under the stress of hosting so many desperate people.
“The continued assault by ­Syrian regime forces — enabled by Russian airstrikes — against ­opposition-held areas, as well as regime and allied militias’ continued besiegement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, have clearly signaled the intention to seek a military solution rather than enable a political one,” he said in a statement released late Wednesday evening. King Abdullah II of Jordan said his country is at a “boiling point,” as a quarter of Jordan’s budget goes to refugees who need education, health care and social services.
Kerry repeated demands made by the opposition groups as preconditions for negotiations. “We call upon the regime and its supporters to halt their bombardment of opposition-held areas, ­especially in Aleppo, and to lift their besiegement of civilians in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2254 and 2258,” which outlined the negotiation process, he said. “Sooner or later, I think the dam is going to burst,” said the king.
“It is past time for them to meet existing obligations and restore the international community’s confidence in their intentions of supporting a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis,” he said. “We look forward to the resumption of talks later this month as outlined by Special Representative de Mistura. During this pause, the world needs to push in one direction — toward stopping the oppression and suffering of the Syrian people and ending, not prolonging, this conflict.” David Miliband, a former British foreign secretary who now heads the International Rescue Committee, has called for 1 million work permits for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, saying it was time to “end the fiction” that the crisis was a short-term problem.
Karen DeYoung contributed to this report from Washington. “And that's only possible if those countries are offered massive, long-term financing for adjusting their economic and social infrastructure to meet the new reality,” he said. “There has to be an economic offer both to the countries and to the refugees”
Simon O’Connell, the executive director of Mercy Corps Europe, said even if the fighting ended tomorrow it will take a decade or longer to rebuild Syria enough so millions of refugees can go home.
“There’s been a huge breakdown in the social fabric inside Syria,” he said at the conference. “It will take time for people to go home, rebuild their lives and livelihoods.”
Karla Adam in London and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.