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Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the repressions committed by the Syrian government on May 27 in the city of Hula. The United Nations confirmed that at least 90 people were massacred, including 34 children. It is a crime against humanity.

Lithuania supports the decision of the EU member states to declare Syrian diplomatic representatives in their countries as persona non grata. This solution is a direct response of the EU to the Syrian Government’s violent and 15-month long crackdown on their country’s citizens and refusal to address the crisis peacefully.

Lithuania fully supports efforts of the UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan and urges Syrian authorities to fulfil all of their obligations to the United Nations that are provided for in Annan’s six-point peace plan, which is backed with UN Security Council Resolutions 2042 and 2043.

Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan provides for the following: (1) commit to work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people; (2) immediately cease troop movements towards, and end the use of heavy weapons in, population centres, and begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centres; (3) ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting; (4) intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons; (5) ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists; (6) respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.

The UN Security Council Resolution 2042 authorises the immediate deployment of an advance team of up to 30 unarmed observers. The UN Security Council Resolution 2043 establishes the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), comprising a deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers to monitor a cessation of armed violence, as well as the full implementation of Annan’s six-point proposal to end the conflict.

Lithuania has proposed two candidates to participate in the UN Supervision Mission in Syria. The candidates have yet to be approved by the UN.

Syrian Embassy in Belarus is accredited to Lithuania, but new ambassador was not appointed.