Russia and the U.S. Call for Emergency UN Security Council Consultations on Syria Crisis

In a collaborative effort to address the escalating violence in Syria, Russia and the United States have initiated emergency closed consultations within the United Nations Security Council. The announcement was made by Dmitry Polyansky, the First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN.

Polyansky indicated that the discussions are prompted by the alarming rise in violence in western Syria, where civilians have increasingly fallen victim to the ongoing conflict. The meeting is slated for March 10 at 10:00 AM New York time as confirmed by the diplomat.

Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Polyansky stressed that the joint initiative seeks to explore solutions to the growing humanitarian crisis in Syria. “We expect the Danish Council Presidency to schedule them for 10:00 New York time on 10 March,” he stated, underlining the necessity for international intervention.

This call for discussion comes amid distressing reports of widespread casualties, with human rights activists estimating that at least 745 civilians have been killed in recent days, bringing the total death toll to over a thousand.

The surge in violence is attributed to armed supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, who launched an uprising against the new authorities on March 6. Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim leader after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, described the current turmoil as “predictable difficulties of the transition period” and urged for restraint.

However, clashes continue to escalate in the provinces of Latakia, Tartus, and Homs, raising concerns about the region’s stability. The ongoing conflict has been marked as one of the bloodiest in recent years, with the new authorities’ security forces suffering 231 fatalities, while approximately 250 armed supporters of Assad have also lost their lives. The Alawite community, which predominantly populates the coastal areas and has historically supported the Assad regime, has borne the brunt of the violence.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported a rapid increase in civilian casualties, suggesting that the actions of the new authorities resemble ethnic cleansing, a development that has sparked alarm on the international stage.