Arriving for a meeting with EU foreign ministers, Federica Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said Saturday’s UN resolution calling for a 30-day truce was a “necessary and encouraging step, but a first step.”
“Now that resolution needs to be immediately implemented,” she added.
Read more:What foreign powers want from the Syrian war
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the warring sides to abide by the resolution, calling on them to allow humanitarian aid and services to get through to those in need.
Speaking at the opening of a UN conference on human rights, he added that “it is high time to stop this hell on earth.”
Read more: Which rebel groups are fighting in Syria’s eastern Ghouta?
Fighting terrorism ‘no excuse’
Guterres stressed that combating terrorism was no legitimate excuse for failing to protect civilians. He was referring to a clause in the UN resolution that exempts those attacks from the truce that target Islamic State or al Qaeda terrorists by regime forces.
The exemption was added to the resolution in an apparent concession to Syria ally and UN Security Council member Russia, which may have otherwise vetoed the resolution.
Macron: Truce applies to Afrin
On Sunday, France’s Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to exert “maximum pressure” on Syria. In a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, Macron stressed that the UN ceasefire resolution “involved all Syrian territory, including in Afrin, and must be put into effect everywhere and by everyone without delay,” according to a statement by the Elysée Palace.
Ankara last month launched an offensive against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin in northern Syria, which has caused ructions with international partners. The YPG is seen in Ankara as linked with the Kurdish group PKK, which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and Europe. The YPG, however, cooperates with the US in Syria.
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