Humanitarian aid to Syria meets Russian resistance at the UN Security Council
Russia isn't budging from its resistance to deny crucial humanitarian aid to northwest Syria.
Should Russia get its way at the UN Security Council this week, millions of Syrians could lose access to crucial humanitarian aid while in the midst of an economic crisis that’s sent the cost of food and medicine soaring across the country.
Before the 15-member council is a cross-border aid mechanism that, if renewed before it expires Friday, would allow supplies to continue flowing from Turkey to Syria’s impoverished northwest.
A draft resolution put forward by penholders Germany and Belgium last month called for Turkish border crossings Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam to be renewed for one year and the Yarubiyah crossing in Iraq to be reopened for six months. However, sources familiar with the negotiations say the latest version being circulated has dropped the demand for Yarubiyah’s reopening altogether in an attempt to appease Russia.
Russia hasn’t budged. And to make matters worse, sources say the Russian delegation is pushing for the removal of the Bab al-Salam crossing at the Turkish border. The United States is said to still be pushing hard for the restoration of Yarubiyah and is urging the Europeans not to cave to Russian pressure.
