Merkel, Trump urge implementation of Syrian cease-fire

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Discussing Syria in a phone conversation, Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump called for an immediate and full implementation of the UN cease-fire, her spokesman said on Friday.

“Both sides call on the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies to immediately and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 2401,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a written statement.

“The chancellor and the US president also call on Russia to stop its participation in the bombardment of Eastern Ghouta and persuade the al-Assad regime to stop its military operations against areas populated by civilians,” he added.

Eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb, has been under siege for the last five years, and humanitarian access to the area, which is home to some 400,000 people, has been completely cut off.

In the past eight months, Syrian regime forces have intensified their siege of Eastern Ghouta, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to get into the district and leaving thousands of patients in need of treatment.

Some 700 people are believed to have been killed by Syrian regime assaults over the past 10 days.

UN Security Council Resolution 2401, passed unanimously on Saturday, calls for a 30-day cease-fire in Eastern Ghouta to allow the delivery of badly needed humanitarian aid.

Russia and the Syrian regime have continued shelling the enclave despite the UN call.