UNITED NATIONS —
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the
Security Council to extend its authorization of cross-border aid into northwest
Syria by a year — a policy that veto-holding Russia has criticized.
اضافة اعلان
The UN
resolution allowing aid deliveries across the Syrian-Turkish border at Bab
Al-Hawa has been in effect since 2014, but is set to expire on July 10.
Nearly 10,000
trucks loaded with humanitarian aid passed through
Bab Al-Hawa last year bound
for the rebel-held Idlib region. It is the only crossing through which aid can
be brought into Idlib without navigating areas controlled by Damascus.
“I strongly
appeal to the members of the Council to maintain consensus on allowing
cross-border operations, by renewing resolution 2585 for an additional 12
months,” Guterres said at the Security Council’s monthly meeting on Syria.
“It is a moral
imperative to address the suffering and vulnerability of 4.1 million people in
the area who need aid and protection,” said Guterres.
“When it comes
to delivering life-saving aid to people in need across Syria, all channels
should be made, and kept, available.”
Russia, an ally
of
Damascus, could veto a proposal to extend the cross-border aid mechanism,
having already forced a reduction in the number of allowed border crossings on
the grounds that it violates Syria’s sovereignty.
Norway’s deputy
ambassador, Trine Heimerback, said ahead of the Council meeting that in
addition to humanitarian aid, the resolution’s renewal “will also facilitate
further early recovery projects.”
Her statement
could be read as a hint that Western nations will assist in the early stages of
Syrian reconstruction projects in exchange for Moscow allowing the cross-border
aid resolution to pass.
Russia has long
called for the West to participate in Syria’s reconstruction, but some members
of the Security Council, most vocally France, have refused until political
reforms have been enacted.
Only route not controlled by Damascus
“In the absence of a political solution, there is absolutely no reason
to normalize relations with the
Syrian regime and move towards reconstruction,”
reiterated the French deputy ambassador, Nathalie Broadhurst, on Monday.
The US, for its
part, also hinted at possible increased involvement in Syrian reconstruction
projects.
US Ambassador
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who recently visited the Syrian-Turkish border, said
that she “reaffirmed US support for early recovery efforts, which we know
continue to be an important component of sustainable response efforts.”
Russia’s deputy
ambassador,
Dmitry Polyanskiy, said that Moscow is “convinced” that
humanitarian aid can reach “all regions of Syria” via Damascus, and blamed
international sanctions for Syria’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
Dozens of aid
groups and six senior UN officials called in separate statements last week for
a year-long renewal of the cross-border aid authorization, which was last
extended in January for six months.
Eleven years
into
Syria’s civil war, three million people live under the rule of jihadists
and allied rebels in the Idlib region.
Half of them
have been uprooted from their homes in other parts of the country and rely
heavily on international aid.
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