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11.10.2016
EuroNews

Chris Cummins

The House of Commons has held a three-hour debate on the deteriorating situation in Syria and in his first speech as foreign secretary Boris Johnson accused Russia of “deliberate attacks on humanitarian convoys.”

A UN convoy was attacked from the air last month, an action widely attributed to Russia, which the Kremlin denies.

Johnson was openly critical of Moscow:“If Russia continues in its current path, then I believe that great country is in danger of becoming a pariah nation. And if President Putin’s strategy is to restore the greatness and the glory of Russia, then I believe he risks seeing his ambition turned to ashes in the face of international contempt for what is happening in Syria.”

The fate of Aleppo, already on the brink of being blasted out of existence, is concentrating minds with a no-fly zone seemingly out of the question to stop Russian and Syrian army bombings.

Last week Russia vetoed a Franco-Spanish UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to the bombing.

Russian deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov on a visit to China said:“We are strongly convinced that there is no military solution to the problem in Syria. It is necessary to leave aside all political ambitions and sit down at the negotiating table immediately.”

As diplomacy goes nowhere the people of eastern Aleppo live and die under the bombs.