WASHINGTON – World powers agreed on Tuesday to continue UN aid mission to northwest Syria In another six months, in accordance with the deadlines requested by Russia, it will now avoid shutting down life-saving deliveries to the roughly four million people living in the 11-year civil war.
Just a few days before, Russia vetoed a plan at the United Nations Security Council to keep the humanitarian aid corridor, from Bab al-Hawa on the Turkish border to Idlib province, open for another year. In response, Western diplomats later rejected Russia’s proposal to allow the mission to stay for six months, calling it too short and unacceptable, because of food, medicine and other supplies. Other supplies will be cut off in the middle of winter, when aid. is most necessary.
But with few alternatives to helping war-weary Syrians – more than a million of whom lived in tents during the conflict that began in 2011 – the council approved the lengthy mandate. 6 months as officials consider how to assist after the conflict is over.
Irish Ambassador to the United Nations Geraldine Byrne Nason said: “The most important thing right now is that the council, with this resolution, keeps the cross-border mechanism open and functional – that is, humanitarian assistance continues. reaching out to those in need.”
Ireland and Norway have drafted a compromise proposal based on Russia’s six-month deadline but also allowing the possibility of extending the aid mission by six months with a new vote after it expires in January.
Better understanding of the Russo-Ukrainian War
Tuesday’s vote also shows the limits of the West’s resolve to refrain Russian power around the world, as the United States and other countries have sought, since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February. Twelve members of the council approved the new measure and no one opposed it, despite the US, UK and France abstaining.
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said: “The world is not limited by Western countries, and it’s time for you to get used to respecting the interests of other countries – first of all, only such countries are directly affected by the decision of the Security Council. “
Russia is the main benefactor of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in the war and has used its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to help close three other humanitarian corridors into Syria in 2020. Moscow has long asserted that the UN mission violates Syria’s sovereignty and that it is up to Mr. al-Assad to decide how, and where, international aid will be delivered.
China’s deputy ambassador, Dai Bing, on Tuesday repeated Moscow’s demand that “humanitarian assistance to Syria must respect Syria’s sovereignty and the Syrian government’s property rights”.
United Nations officials have described the Bab al-Hawa route as the gateway to the world’s largest humanitarian aid operation, transporting more than 56,000 trucks carrying life-saving supplies to the western Idlib province. northern Syria since 2014. Aid groups estimate that 70% of Syria’s population does not have a reliable food supply.
Russian diplomats also warn that it is easy for aid to be delivered to Idlib – the last major rebel enclave in Syria and an area that has also become a haven for extremists linked to Al Qaeda – very easily. taken over by terrorist groups.
Last year, Russia agreed to keep Bab al-Hawa open after intense negotiations with the United States, with the understanding that the UN mission’s mandate would expire on Sunday. But in recent months, Russia has signaled that it will refuse to continue the year-long extension process.
“We will continue to monitor progress and implement the resolution we adopted today to determine the final fate,” Mr. Polyanskiy said.
Richard M. Mills, Deputy Special Envoy to the United Nations, said Moscow’s support for al-Assad has made Syrians even more desperate, amid food shortages caused by wheat and oil exports from Syria. Russia and Ukraine are restricted.
“Russia knows that some of the recent severe needs in Syria are a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the shocks that brutal invasion has caused to food systems in Syria and around the world. world,” said Mr. Mills. “And the simple truth is, Russia doesn’t care.”
