German FM: Russia Has Responsibility in Aleppo for Providing Humanitarian Access

Local Editor

Russia has a special role to play in the Syrian city of Aleppo in providing humanitarian access, said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his visit to Russia. He also said Berlin and Moscow must work together on rebuilding Syria when the time comes.

"Russia has special responsibility for Aleppo, especially when it comes to providing humanitarian access," Steinmeier said at a meeting with students at Urals Federal University in Yekaterinburg on Monday, while urging other countries "to work together on political reconciliation in Syria."

"When the time for Syria's reconstruction comes, Germany and Russia should work together in both Aleppo and Homs, and this is just a few cities," he said, adding that the collaboration would have a positive impact on ensuring peace in war-torn Syria.

Speaking after his German counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that Russian-German relations are now at their lowest level since the German reunification of 1990, adding that "NATO's policy to move eastward at any cost deepens division lines in Europe."

Lavrov stressed that the bloc seems to be unwilling to restore dialogue with Moscow. "The Russia-NATO Council [format] is frozen. The fact that a couple of ambassadorial meetings took place changed nothing. NATO does not want to discuss restoring relations."

He stressed that it was not Russia that had decided to break ties, adding that "our Western colleagues have admitted that it was a mistake."

Lavrov also said Russia is determined to revive dialogue, even on its own: "At the Russia-NATO Council meeting last month, we came up with specific proposals to restore military cooperation, first of all, and to build trust in that regard."

Addressing the Syrian conflict, Lavrov said the West has been applying "double standards" when assessing the situation in the Middle East.

"There is no room for double standards, because, for instance, the humanitarian crisis in Syria is at the heart of Western leaders' political rhetoric, but the humanitarian situation in Yemen is diligently neglected," he asserted.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team