U.S. move to withhold funds will hinder U.N. effort to help Palestinian refugees: Russia
UNITED NATIONS, (MILLAT ONLINE):The United States’ decision to withhold funds for the U.N. agency mandated to care for Palestinian refugees will seriously undermine efforts to meet the needs of refugees, Russian Foreign Minister said Friday.
“This decision … undermines in a serious way the efforts to satisfy the needs of Palestinian refugees in the region,” Lavrov told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York in response to a question.
“We’ll consult all stakeholders and we’ll see what we can do.”
The United States said this week it had decided to pay the U.N. Relief and Works Agency $60 million but was putting a hold on another $65 million it had been expected to provide. The U.S. State Department also said it would not provide an additional $45 million in food aid it had pledged for Palestinian refugees.
The top Russian diplomat also that the United States, despite denying setting up local forces in northern Syria, is trying to form “alternative bodies of authority” that contradict a commitment to Syrian territorial integrity.
“The U.S. are trying to form … alternative bodies of authority on vast … parts of the Syrian territory,” Lavrov said. ce at the United Nations.
“That is a fact and that does contradict their own obligations … to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria.”
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said US troops would stay in Syria for the foreseeable future, adding that the US would not fund the reconstruction of any part of Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is in power.
Tillerson elaborated on a US plan to push for a faster political transition in the country by discouraging economic relationships between Damascus and any other country.
Syria strongly condemned the US plan to maintain its military presence in the country as interference in its internal affairs and a blatant violation of international law.
According to figures the Pentagon released in December, there are at least 2,000 US troops in Syria as well as a diplomatic presence in cities such as Kobani.
Asked about the U.S. denial of allegations that US is supporting Da’esh in Afghanistan, Lavrov said unidentified helicopters flying over the areas controlled by Da’esh, apparently dropping something off and returning to bases with US soldiers, among others, remains a cause for concern.