07 December 2016•Update: 07 December 2016
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
Six western powers have on Wednesday asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies in Russia and Iran to immediately implement a humanitarian cease-fire.
"The urgent need now is for an immediate ceasefire to allow the United Nations to get humanitarian assistance to people in eastern Aleppo and to provide humanitarian relief to those who have fled eastern Aleppo," the governments of the U.S., France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the U.K. said.
"We call on the Syrian regime to do this urgently to alleviate the dire situation in Aleppo; and call on Russia and Iran to use their influence to help make this happen," it added.
Aleppo's rebels called for a five-day humanitarian cease-fire earlier in the day amid successive advances by Assad's forces in the city's east that have led to wide swathes falling from rebel control.
The six western nations said in their statement "there must not be impunity for those responsible" for war crimes committed in the offensive.
"We call on the UN to investigate respective reports and gather evidence to hold the perpetrators of war crimes to account," they said, threatening that they "are ready to consider additional restrictive measures against individuals and entities that act for or on behalf of the Syrian regime”.
They also faulted Russia for "blocking the UN Security Council, which is therefore unable to do its work and put an end to the atrocities.
"The regime's refusal to engage in a serious political process also highlights the unwillingness of both Russia and Iran to work for a political solution despite their assurances to the contrary," the statement read.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters later Wednesday that the U.S. intended "to apply pressure to Russia because of the tactics that they have been willing to not just condone but in some cases actively support that have resulted in significant innocent loss of life".
President Barack Obama "does not believe it's an effective strategy to gloss over or somehow obscure Russia's complicity in this sordid affair in order to reach a solution," he said.
