The Chancellor and the US President have called for a complete and immediate implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution on a cessation of hostilities in Syria. The Syrian regime and its allies must end their attacks on Eastern Ghouta, they declared.
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Angela Merkel and Donald Trump spoke by telephone about the situation in Syria.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump have called on Russia to end its involvement in the bombing of Eastern Ghouta. Russia, they said, must also exert the influence it has over the Assad regime to end the offensive against civilian areas.
Angela Merkel and Donald Trump have also demanded that the Syrian regime be called to account for the further worsening of the humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta. This applies to both the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian army, and to the attacks on civilians and blockade of humanitarian support.
On 24 February 2018 the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on the situation in Syria. It calls on all parties in Syria to respect a cessation of hostilities that is to last a minimum of 30 days, in particular to allow humanitarian aid in and to make possible evacuations from the areas that have seen fighting.
A five-hour pause in hostilities every day can be "no more than a first step" for the suffering people in Eastern Ghouta, declared Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Sigmar Gabriel urged all sides to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution, and facilitate an immediate ceasefire for Syria.
Earlier the Chancellor and French President Emmanuel Macron called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to make it possible to get assistance in to the population of Eastern Ghouta, who are facing an "unparalleled level of violence". Russia has means of "making the Syrian regime see sense".