Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate my total condemnation of the bombardment of Aleppo. The attacks by the Assad regime and its allies, including Russia, against eastern Aleppo are clearly disproportionate and unacceptable. The deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, schools and essential infrastructure and the widespread civilian casualties may, indeed, amount to war crimes. Our concerns have been conveyed in the clearest possible terms to the Russian authorities. Ireland does not recognise the legitimacy of the 2014 Syrian presidential elections and has ceased all diplomatic or political contacts with the Assad regime.

My EU colleagues and I spoke on Monday, 17 October with the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura and underlined our continued and strong support for his efforts to stem the destruction of Syria and its people. I met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during my recent visit to the United Nations in New York. I discussed the crisis in Syria with them and with other international partners in a range of bilateral meetings. I continue to press for accountability, both to provide the victims with the hope of redress and in the hope that it will deter those involved from even worse atrocities in the area. This has been central to our interventions at the UN in New York and Geneva and of my own interventions and statements at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg last week. Together with our EU partners, Ireland remains engaged through the European Union in the International Syria Support Group. We will continue to support efforts to find a political resolution to the unacceptable level of conflict and hostilities in Aleppo and Syria generally.

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