- Title: U.N. vows to air drop Syria aid if needed, eyes renewed peace talks
- Date: 19th May 2016
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MAY 19, 2016) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS BUILDING U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SYRIA, STAFFAN DE MISTURA AND SPECIAL ADVISOR TO STAFFAN DE MISTURA, JAN EGELAND AND TEAM ARRIVING FOR NEWS BRIEFING NEWS BRIEFING IN SESSION CAMERAMAN AT WORK (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SYRIA, STAFFAN DE MISTURA, SAYING: "If by the 1st of June, there is no substantial progress in humanitarian access to these areas in particular, but of course aiming at all of them, then the option of air drops and air lifts, in other words bringing even to those areas where there can be airports such as in the Hassakeh area, needs to be concretely, solidly, seriously taken." EGELAND AND DE MISTURA LISTENING TO REPORTER QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SYRIA, STAFFAN DE MISTURA, SAYING: "Obviously, we are in a clear hurry to start re-introducing the next round of the intra-Syrian talks, but the message was clear: if we don't have the atmosphere conducive for increasing the cessation of hostilities tenure, which has gone down from 80-85 to 50 (percent) and we don't get what we've been asking for and everybody has been asking, a substantial improvement on humanitarian access than the credibility of the next round of talks would be in question and I don't want to expose that. Therefore, I am not going to give you a date, yet." PHOTOGRAPHER AT WORK JOURNALISTS AT NEWS BRIEFING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SYRIA, STAFFAN DE MISTURA, SAYING: "Clearly, talks are not going to be abandoned, frankly ever because they are the only avenue for a political solution, it's only a matter of timing." DE MISTURA, EGELAND AND TEAM LEAVING NEWS BRIEFING
- Embargoed: 3rd June 2016 14:19
- Keywords: Syria peace talks Geneva aid airdrop U.N.
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: United Nations
- Reuters ID: LVA0014IH5IYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura vowed on Thursday (May 19) to take the "last resort" option of air drops of humanitarian aid if land access to besieged areas in Syria is not improved by June 1.
Without improved aid access and some restoration of Syria's tattered cessation of hostilities, the credibility of the next round of peace talks would be in question, he said.
The damage to the peace talks prompted the United States and Russia to convene the International Syria Support Group of major and regional powers on Tuesday, which toughened the truce terms and endorsed a stronger push for humanitarian aid.
The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) has made more than 30 air drops of food and other supplies to the eastern town of Deir al-Zor, besieged by Islamic State, due to a total lack of access, but that is the only location so far.
De Mistura said he would not abandon the peace talks, but was waiting for the right date.
He said he would not rule out overriding any Syrian government objections to air drops.
De Mistura's humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland said a clear intention to organise air drops for Syria's remaining besieged areas would help convince President Bashar al-Assad to allow humanitarian convoys to go in by road.
Humanitarian supplies this month have not reached half the 900,000 people the U.N. wanted to supply in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, he said. The target for June is 1.1 million. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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