Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much agree. During the summer when I had the opportunity to meet the incoming Secretary General of the Arab League, I referred to the situation in Syria and the point raised by the Deputy. I have no doubt that the only viable and sustainable way forward remains a comprehensive end to the violence and a Syrian-led political resolution based on a real political transition process. That remains my objective and that of the European Union and it is reflected in the conclusions reached last Monday at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. Clearly, all available options must be on the table. As I informed the House in my address last week, it is a source of the gravest concern for me that a permanent member of the Security Council, with a duty to the United Nations to uphold international law and the principles of the UN Charter, could condone or engage in the bombardment of Aleppo which, in many respects, amounts to a war crime. I utterly condemn the actions in Aleppo of the Assad regime and its allies, including Russia, and demand the immediate end to the bombardment of that city, the ending of the siege of eastern Aleppo and the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian assistance in Aleppo and across Syria.

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