By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – United Nations Security Council members will work on a statement on Syria in the coming days, U.S. and Russian diplomats said on Monday, after a closed-door meeting over the rebel seizure of the capital Damascus and ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
“The council, I think, was more or less united on the need to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, to ensure the protection of civilians, to ensure that humanitarian aid is coming to the needy population,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after the 15-member body met.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood confirmed that most members spoke about those issues and told reporters the council would work on a statement. The United States is president of the council for December.
“This is an incredible moment for the Syrian people,” Wood said. “Now we’re really focused right now on trying to see where the situation goes. Can there be a governing authority in Syria that respects the rights and dignities of the Syrian population?”
Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak told reporters outside the council that his mission and all Syrian embassies abroad had received instructions to continue doing their job and maintain the state institution during the transition period.
“Now we are waiting for the new government, but meanwhile we are continuing with the current one and the leadership,” he said, adding that Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh – appointed by Assad – was still in Damascus.
“We are with the Syrian people. We will keep defending and working for the Syrian people. So we will continue our work until further notice,” he told reporters outside the council.
“Syrians are looking forward to establishing a state of freedom, equality, rule of law, democracy, and we will join efforts to rebuild our country, to rebuild what was destroyed, and to rebuild the future, better future of Syria,” he said.
Nebenzia and Wood both spoke about how unexpected the weekend events in Syria were.
“Everyone was taken by surprise, everyone, including the members of the council. So we have to wait and see and watch … and evaluate how the situation will develop,” Nebenzia said.
Russia has diplomatically shielded its ally Assad during the war, casting more than a dozen vetoes at the Security Council, on many occasions backed by China. The 15-member council has met several times a month throughout the war on Syria’s political and humanitarian situations and chemical weapons.
China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong said after the council meeting that “the situation needs to be stabilized and there has to be an inclusive political process, and also there should not be a resurgence of terrorist forces.”
The rebel offensive that ousted Assad was initiated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Formerly known as the Nusra Front, it was al Qaeda’s official wing in Syria until breaking ties in 2016. It is sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council.
Diplomats said there has not been any discussion of removing HTS from the sanctions list.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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