No Certainty on Syria Truce After Week of Talks In New York

It’s been a busy week for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the country’s delegation to the 71st UN General Assembly in New York City. But even after several meetings on Syria, Moscow and Washington appear to maintain at-odds views on what is happening in the war-torn country, and what to do about it.

Photographs of a convoy of burning humanitarian-aid trucks on the outskirts of Aleppo have been all over the news, as the UN Security Council gathered to discuss the attacks and other recent incidents, earlier in the week.

Representatives for Russia and the US offered opposing views on who is to blame. The White House pointed fingers at Moscow and Damascus. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian Air Force was not involved, as the attack happened after dark, and Russian forces are not capable of carrying out night-time missions.

It has been noted that the attack on the humanitarian convoy happened shortly after US-led anti-ISIS coalition jets mistakenly bombed Syrian army positions in Deir Ez Zor, killing 83 troops.

Both incidents overshadowed a recent ceasefire deal brokered by Russia and the US, bringing the viability of the truce into doubt.

Even after long talks between Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry in New York earlier this week, the situation remained uncertain.

Media question: Will the ceasefire be reinstated in #Syria?#Lavrov: You should ask the Americans https://t.co/0Wl58pd7YP pic.twitter.com/MEd1EkqV3P

— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) 23 сентября 2016 г.

​Lavrov also met with the Middle East Quartet, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and had bilateral talks with foreign ministers of  Hungary, Slovenia, Bangladesh, Hungary, Macedonia, Suriname and other states.

On Friday, Lavrov addressed the 71st UN General Assembly, stating that all nations now live in a multipolar world, in which no one country can dictate its rules to other nations.

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov @ UN General Assembly: Some western elites still driven by ideas of exceptionalism, instead of equity and balance.

— Denis Bolotsky (@BolotskySputnik) 23 сентября 2016 г.

​Terrorism, Lavrov stated, requires a global approach, and the spread of terrorist ideology must be stopped.

Russian FM Lavrov: we are working on a UN resolution to stop the spread of terrorist ideology among youth worldwide.

— Denis Bolotsky (@BolotskySputnik) 23 сентября 2016 г.

​On Friday the Russian delegation concluded its visit to the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

The General Assembly is one of UN's principal organs, and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation.

The general debate at the 71st UN General Assembly will continue until September 26.