WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd March, 2019) The United States is calling on Russia to coordinate efforts on evacuating refugees seeking to leave the Rukban camp in Syria's southeast, Department of State deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a statement.
Earlier on Friday, the head of the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation Lt. Gen. Sergei Solomatin said Russia and Syria have sent humanitarian bus convoys to the Rukban camp, but did not receive any response from the United States to allow the convoy passage and guarantee its safety.
"The United States supports the UN call for a durable solution for Rukban in line with protection standards and coordinated with all parties," Palladino said via Twitter on Friday. "Unilateral Russian initiatives, not coordinated with the UN and regional parties, do not meet these standards. The US and UN are ready for coordinated efforts on safe, voluntary, informed departures for those who wish to leave."
The Rukban camp, which houses about 40,000 displaced people, is located in the southern part of Syria, not far from Jordan. The area that became a refugee camp for Syrian residents back in 2014 is now the US-controlled zone.
Alexander Marchenko, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Friday that Washington is delaying the relocation of refugees from the Rukban camp, as it aspires to organize convoys with international humanitarian assistance that will enable further existence of the camp.
In January this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) described people residing in the camp as "trapped," adding that they live "in deplorable conditions." Limited water supply, bitterly cold weather and poorly functioning health care facilities contribute to the rise of diseases, which include influenza, measles, tuberculosis and chronic respiratory diseases, the WHO stated.
