LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors Thursday to convey his 鈥減rofound concern鈥� over their countries鈥� role in the 鈥渟uffering鈥� of the people of Aleppo, the Foreign Office said. 
The two separate afternoon meetings came as hundreds of civilians and rebels were evacuated from the Syrian city, paving the way for the Moscow and Tehran-backed regime of President Bashar Assad to take back control.
鈥淚 summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors to the Foreign Office in order to convey in person the government鈥檚 profound concern over the situation in Aleppo,鈥� Johnson said in a statement.
鈥淏oth Russia and Iran have failed to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, specifically by failing to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians during the months when eastern Aleppo was besieged.
鈥淭hey deserve no credit for the fact that an evacuation appears to be underway today.
鈥淗aving inflicted such suffering on the people of eastern Aleppo, Iran and Russia cannot expect praise for allowing some people to escape at the final hour.
鈥淏oth countries need to ensure the UN now oversees the evacuation process and that all civilians and non-combatants are properly protected.鈥�
In the meetings, Johnson emphasised the importance of protecting civilians, voicing 鈥渄eep concern鈥� at reports of executions, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.