US announces $800M in Syria aid as border-access vote looms
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the international community to ensure the latest Syria aid "actually reaches those in need."
The Biden administration has announced more than $800 million in new humanitarian assistance for Syria, a major tranche of aid that comes as the United Nations’ aid lifeline to northwest Syria is in jeopardy.
“This assistance demonstrates that, even as we work to address other conflicts around the world, the United States maintains our unshakable commitment to the Syrian people,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in Brussels Tuesday during a pledging conference for Syria.
What’s next: The UN Security Council has until July 10 to reauthorize a resolution that since 2014 has allowed UN agencies and their partners to send food, medicine and other basic goods into opposition-held Syria without the permission of the government in Damascus.
Russia has long argued the aid mechanism violates Syria’s sovereignty. Along with China, Russia has used its veto threat in the 15-member council to weaken the UN’s original aid operation, which put in place four official border crossings from Turkey, Jordan and Iraq.
