Russian ambassador to the United Nations “thanks” the United States and other countries for reaching an agreement on Syria assistance

After the United States and Russia reached an agreement, Syria will continue to receive humanitarian assistance from Turkey to provide northwestern Syria occupied by the rebels within one year. The United Nations stated that the agreement will provide 3.4 million Syrians in urgent need of food and other assistance. Lifesaving assistance.

The UN Security Council unanimously approved the aid on Friday. The key question is whether the Security Council should approve the delivery of goods to northwest Idlib through the Bab al-Hawa crossing point for another year (the West, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations consider this to be crucial), or whether it should be as close as Syria’s closest The ally Russia has insisted on extending it for six months.

The one-year assistance authorization currently provided through Bab al-Hawa will expire on Saturday. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, stated that the agreement was “a milestone on the road to resolving the Syrian crisis and overcoming its consequences” and expressed gratitude to the United States and all Council members “despite all difficulties and Issues” agreed. “

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The resolution authorizes the provision of assistance through Bab al-Hawa for a period of 6 months, until January 10, 2022, and is automatically extended for another six months until January 10, 2022, provided that the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gut Antonio Guterres issued a report on “transparency” in aid operations and progress in providing aid across the conflict line in Syria, as Russia had hoped.

“The members of the council have gradually strengthened the cross-border mechanism and were eventually replaced by cross-border delivery,” Nebenzia said. “It addresses the need to improve cross-line delivery for the first time.”

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield told the Security Council after the vote: “Thanks to this resolution, millions of Syrians can breathe a sigh of relief tonight because they know that important humanitarian aid will continue through Bab al-Hawa tomorrow. The border crossing flows into Idlib, and the parents can fall asleep tonight because they know that in the next 12 months, their children will be full.”

“The humanitarian agreement we reached here will really save lives,” she said.

Nebenzia said that the members of the Council are also united, “because humanitarian activities should also meet the urgent needs of the Syrian population, such as water supply, medical care and education.”

The resolution called on the 193 member states of the United Nations to “in view of the far-reaching socio-economic and humanitarian impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Syria, as a country in a complex humanitarian situation, take practical steps to respond to the urgent needs of the Syrian people. Emergency.”

It also welcomes “all efforts and initiatives to expand humanitarian activities in Syria, including water, sanitation, sanitation, education and housing” and early recovery projects.

The issue of aid to the northwest of Idlib has always been the top priority of the U.S. government and the president Joe Biden This was raised at a summit with the Russian president last month Vladimir PutinBoth Nebenzia and Thomas-Greenfield emphasized the importance of the agreement they reached for future US-Russian relations.

Initially, due to the meeting between Thomas Greenfield and Nebenzia, the board’s vote on rival Western and Russian draft resolutions was postponed.

Ireland and Norway drafted a resolution seeking Western support for a one-year extension, and Russia, which distributed a six-month extension, withdrew their resolutions after the meeting. Subsequently, the 15 members of the Security Council gathered together and agreed on a compromise resolution that was passed unanimously.

According to Guterres’ report on the “transparency” of aid delivery and the progress of delivering aid directly across Syria’s conflict lines, Russia’s draft resolution distributed on Thursday will authorize a six-month extension “and looks forward to renewing the contract.” When the six-month extension expires on January 10, it will require another vote by the Security Council, but the resolution approved on Friday does not require another vote.

Nebenzia told the Security Council two weeks ago that aid across conflict lines “is the only legitimate option for humanitarian action”. He accused Western countries of wasting the past year that could have been used to “find seamless and constructive solutions and solutions.” Achieve the best balance of procurement in Idlib through Bab al-Hawa and domestic channels.”

Nebenzia also claimed that humanitarian operations are not transparent and that some assistance will be provided to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Idlib’s most powerful armed group, rather than Syrians in need.

He told reporters on Thursday that “it won’t fly in 12 months” because nothing happened in the past year, especially in cross-line delivery.

Western countries, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations believe that an extension of one year is essential to ensure the flow of aid, while six months will require another vote in January and may prevent millions of Syrians from receiving aid in the midst of winter.

When assistance began in 2014, three years after the beginning of the Syrian conflict, the Security Council approved four border crossings. But in January 2020, Russia first used its veto threat in the Security Council to restrict aid delivery to two border crossings in the northwest, and then reduced the border crossing to Bab al-Hawa in July last year.

Ireland and Norway initially proposed to reopen the Al-Yaroubiya border crossing from Iraq to Syria in the northeast, which is mainly controlled by the Kurds. But last week, Nebenzia called this idea “not working”, so Norway and Ireland revised their proposal to leave only the Bab al-Hawa border open.

Ramesh Rajasingham, the acting head of humanitarian affairs of the United Nations, told the Security Council in late June that if the authorization to Bab al-Hawa is not extended, “will destroy the need for 3.4 million people in the northwest. Life-saving assistance for the people, millions of whom are among the most vulnerable people in Syria.”