The UN Security Council postponed the vote on a resolution to maintain the delivery of humanitarian aid from Turkey to the rebel zones of northwestern Syria, due to the lack of agreement with Russia.
The vote, initially scheduled for the start of the session on Thursday, was postponed several times as the 15-member Security Council tried to reach a compromise.
At the end of the afternoon, the countries decided to postpone the vote and continue negotiating this Friday to reach a consensus before the mechanism that allows the sending of aid expires on Sunday.
According to diplomatic sources, quoted by the Efe news agency, the Russia rejects proposal from Norway and Irelandthat it would maintain the use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing for a year to deliver humanitarian aid to the population of the Syrian province of Idlib, which is under rebel control.
Moscow, which has been very critical of this mechanism and has veto power in the Security Council, proposes as a commitment to maintain the aid for only six more months.
The Russian government, a great ally of the Syrian government, considers that the aid has benefited terrorist groups in Idlib, especially Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with links to Al-Qaida, and believes that all aid should be channeled through Bashar’s executive al-Assad.
The renewal of the mechanism, in force since 2014, has become a recurring battle in the Security Council in recent years.
At Russia’s insistence, the number of border crossings that can be used to deliver aid has been progressively reduced and now the Bab al-Hawa pass is the only open corridor.
Non-governmental organizations have warned of a catastrophe in Idlib, the last rebel stronghold, if the border is closed.
According to aid agencies, more than four million people in northwestern Syria depend on this aid.
In 2021, more than 9,500 trucks with food, medicine and other essential items passed through Bab al-Hawa.
According to the UN, after 11 years of war in Syria and, despite military calm, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid in the country is currently the highest since the beginning of the conflictpartly due to the severe drought and the impact of the war in Ukraine.
Guterres defends maintaining the only cross-border corridor in Syria
Source: Observadora
