US ambassador to UN says Syria presidential election ‘neither free nor fair’
- UN Security Council holds meeting on 10th anniversary of Syria conflict
- US and European allies vow solidarity with Syrian people
The US ambassador to the United Nations urged the international community not to “be fooled” by Syria’s forthcoming presidential election during a Security Council meeting on Monday on the 10th anniversary of the start of the conflict.
“These elections will neither be free nor fair. They will not legitimise the Assad regime,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, referring to president Bashar al-Assad.
The diplomat told council members the elections set for this summer “do not meet the criteria laid out in Resolution 2254 – including that they be supervised by the UN or conducted pursuant to a new constitution”.
Thomas-Greenfield said the United States, which has the rotating presidency of the council, had decided to hold the monthly meeting on Syria on March 15 because it coincided with the anniversary of the beginning of the conflict in 2011.
The milestone prompted a statement from the United States and its major European allies vowing solidarity with the Syrian people following years of “abuses, mass atrocities and grave violations of international law,” as well as widespread corruption and economic mismanagement.