The Syrian foreign ministry said the "root causes" of the humanitarian crisis must be treated, singling out "foreign-backed terrorism" and sanctions placed on the Syrian government by Western and Arab countries.

The Security Council, which has been sharply divided over the nearly three-year Syrian conflict, unanimously adopted resolution 2139 on Saturday, calling for humanitarian aid convoys to be allowed access across the war-torn country.

The Security Council resolution calls on "all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas."

According to the ministry statement, carried by state news agency SANA, Syria is ready to continue cooperating with the UN mission and international humanitarian organizations "to agree on the implementation of resolution 2139."

It said the resolution must be implemented "with respect for the principles laid out in the UN Charter, international law and the basic foundations of humanitarian work, especially state sovereignty and the role of the state, and principles of neutrality, transparency and non-politicized assistance."

Damascus said the resolution, which condemns terror attacks by Al-Qaeda-linked organizations, was an admission by the Security Council of the presence of "extremist Al-Qaeda-linked terrorism" in Syria.

It described the UN condemnation as "a step in the right direction."

Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Syrian government has been stressing that the crisis was far from an uprising and more a foreign-charged war aimed at regime change in the country.

A recent British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people. The extracts of the study by defense consultancy, IHS Jane's, were published on September 16.

IHS Jane's estimates that some 10,000 militants are fighting for groups affiliated with al-Qaeda such as al-Nusra Front, and the rest fight for different militant groups.

SHI/SHI