(VOVworld) – The UN Security Council convened a high-level meeting on Wednesday on the situation in Syria following a failed.

Ambassadors of Russia and Syria at an UN meeting in New York on September 21. (Photo: EPA/VNA)

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon told Security Council members that the Syrian tragedy shames them all. The civil war in Syria has killed 300,000 people, rendered half of Syria’s population homeless, and destroyed most of the country’s infrastructure. Ban stressed the need to end the fighting, the very first step to ending the 5-year conflict.  

US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russian and Syrian fighter jets of attacking humanitarian convoys this week. He called on Russia to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s administration to halt air operations in areas held by the opposition.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected Kerry’s accusation and said there is no way that Assad’s forces will unilaterally give up their operations. He added that only a comprehensive, multilateral approach by the Council will end the hostilities.