The Russian Foreign Ministry called for “an Olympic truce” today, noting that their appeal was “first of all addressed to all parties in the bloody conflict in Syria.” Here in New York, Russia’s ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, was almost simultaneously trying to slam the door on an effort to address the humanitarian catastrophe underway in Syria, claiming “it’s not a good time to have any resolution discussed in the Security Council.”
Which begs the question: After nearly three years of conflict, and with some 250,000 facing starvation in areas completely cutoff from aid, when would be a good time, Ambassador Churkin? How can Russia justify the delay of even one day given the gravity of the situation?
More than four months ago, the UN Security Council called for Syria to take immediate steps to eliminate obstacles to desperately needed aid. The facts belie Churkin’s claim that waiting makes sense because “some results have been achieved.” As of today, 3 million Syrians face profound aid shortages in “hard-to-reach” areas, a figure that is up from the 2.5 million in need when the Security Council statement was adopted on October 2. A small amount of aid recently reached Yarmouk, one of the besieged enclaves, and today, there are media reports that civilians may be evacuated from the Old City of Homs. These developments, while welcome, represent only small ripples when what is needed is a tidal wave of aid.
Tomorrow, Russian President Vladimir Putin will open the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Now is the moment for Russia to devote as much energy to resolving the humanitarian crisis in Syria as it has to promoting Russia’s image in those games. Russia’s failure to secure movement on aid to Syrians, and its unwillingness to support a Security Council resolution on this issue, is unfitting for a country positioning itself, through the games, as a global power.
