"That is not realistic," Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters on Thursday.
"We would like to see a ceasefire, the end of the war, but the terrorists, I am not sure, are in agreement," he added.
The UN appealed on Tuesday for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” for one month in order to allow delivery of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations.
The UN Security Council will hold a closed door session on Syria on Thursday to discuss the situation in the country.
In a letter to the council president and the secretary-general of the UN, Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned a “brutal massacre” of pro-regime forces by the US-led coalition.
“This new aggression, which represents a war crime and a crime against humanity and a direct support to terrorism, affirms the nature of the low US intentions against the sovereignty of Syria, the unity of its land and people and the US exploitation of the pretext of fighting terrorism to establish illegal bases on the Syrian territory,” the ministry stated, state-run SANA news reported.
The coalition announced late Wednesday night it had conducted airstrikes against “attacking forces” in self-defence after a known SDF position came under attack.
The ministry condemned the coalition’s more than three years’ operation in Syria, demanding the “illegal” alliance be dissolved and called on the Security Council to hold the coalition responsible for the killing and wounding of “thousands of civilians” and pay compensation to families of victims.
Damascus and Syrian forces will “continue to carry out their responsibilities regardless of the sacrifices in order to prevent the US coalition from achieving its declared terrorist objectives,” the ministry concluded.
Syrian regime jets have been pounding rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, resulting in more than 200 deaths in the last four days alone.
“These are the worst four days that Eastern Ghouta has ever gone through,” Hamza, a doctor in the area, told AFP.
In the Kurdish canton of Afrin, the SDF have also made an appeal to the Security Council, as well as the European Union and Russia, to pressure Turkey to “stop this aggression and massacres committed against unarmed civilians in Afrin, and to urge Turkey to withdraw its forces completely from Syrian territory, including Idlib, Jarablus, al-Bab, and Azaz.”
At least 140 civilians have been killed in Afrin since January 20, according to local health officials.
The Kurdish-led force described Turkey’s operation a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty and demanded an international investigation into allegations Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies have used internationally banned weapons in Afrin.
Kurdish officials have accused forces of Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch of using cluster bombs and napalm. Turkey has denied the charge.
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