Kerry calls for grounding aircraft to salvage Syrian cease-fire

Secretary of State John Kerry called Wednesday for all aircraft over humanitarian routes in Syria to be grounded in order to allow for much-needed aid to be delivered.

{mosads}“We must move forward to try to immediately ground all aircraft flying in those key areas in order to de-escalate the situation and give a chance for humanitarian aid to flow unimpeded,” Kerry said at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Syria. “And if that happens, there’s a chance of giving credibility back to this process.”

Kerry was seeking to salvage a cease-fire that has all but collapsed after an attack on an aid convoy that killed civilian workers. 

On Monday night, 20 civilians were killed delivering supplies in western Aleppo. The United Nations halted all aid deliveries after the attack.

The United States has said evidence indicates the attack was an airstrike and that its aircraft were not operating in the area, leaving just Syrian or Russian aircraft as possibilities.

U.S. intelligence reportedly indicates that two Russian Sukhoi Su-24 warplanes were in the skies at the time the convoy was struck.

Either way, U.S. officials publicly pinned the blame on Russia, saying even if it was Syrian aircraft, Russia is responsible for ensuring Syria’s compliance with the cease-fire.

Russia has denied responsibility in shifting stories. Most recently, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it has evidence a U.S. Predator drone was flying over the area during the attack, according to The Associated Press.

In addition to Monday’s attack, four staff members of the International Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations were killed Tuesday night in an airstrike on a medical triage point in Aleppo.

“There are only two countries that have airplanes that are flying during the night or flying at all in that particular area, Russia and Syria,” Kerry said of Tuesday’s attack.

Kerry also said listening to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is like being in a “parallel universe.”

But despite repeated, flagrant violations, Kerry said, the cease-fire between Russia and the United States is the only option.

“The plan announced in Geneva is far from perfect, but I have yet to hear an alternative that is remotely realistic that will lead to a better outcome,” he said.

Kerry described the international community’s pending response to the aid convoy attack as a “moment of truth.” 

“The primary question is: Collectively, what are we going to do about it?” he said. “In other words, this is a moment of truth. It’s a moment of truth for President [Vladimir] Putin and Russia; it’s a moment of truth also for the opposition; and it’s a moment of truth for the people who support the opposition.”