"At this point it is way too early to see what kind of effect on the ground negotiations and ceasefires like this [in southwestern Syria] have. What we see is that attacks on medical structures, attacks on healthcare workers, hospitals have been prevalent over the last years increasingly in our operations in many countries, including Syria," Frisch said, asked if the new deal announced on the G20 sidelines would reduce the number of attacks on the Syrian ground.
The MSF spokesman urged the G20 members and particularly states comprising the US-led coalition to respect humanitarian operations and take accountability for possible strikes on medical facilities.
"It is important that all countries, especially those that are engaged in international coalitions make clear that they respect these kind of facilities, that they don’t see them as some kind of military target… This is a paramount demand that we have towards all states today, especially towards the G20," Frisch added.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump that Russia, the United States and Jordan agreed on ceasefire in southwestern Syria starting at noon on July 9. The United Nations said it was ready to welcome the new Syrian ceasefire agreement but has yet to see details.
