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Members of the United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed to extend the mechanism for providing humanitarian aid to millions of Syrians through the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the border with Turkey for a period of 6 months. Washington welcomed the decision, while Moscow has confirmed that its approval does not mean a change in its position.
The decision allows humanitarian aid to enter through the Bab al-Hawa crossing point without permission from the Syrian regime, and came as the Organization of Syria Response Coordinators announced that the number of people in need of humanitarian aid in Syria exceeded 15 people. millions.
For her part, the US representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, welcomed the decision of the UN Security Council, and said that the mechanism should have been renewed for a year, not just for 6 months.
“The discussion we need is how to strengthen the mechanism to ensure that aid reaches more people. In the coming months, we need to show the Syrian people that we will continue to put their humanity first,” he added.
The US representative clarified that the needs are widespread across Syria and are greater than they have ever been.
On the other hand, the Russian delegate, Vasily Nebenzia, described the renewal decision as difficult, adding that the step should not be considered a change in Moscow’s principled position on the mechanism.
The Russian delegate added that Western delegations commend their efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria and avoid another very disturbing issue i.e. unilateral sanctions negatively affecting ordinary Syrians, considering that sanctions are the main factor behind the deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
Nebenzia believed that Western countries are working on purpose to ensure the aggravation of the situation and are trying hard to stop the process of normalization of the situation in the country to the maximum distort the efforts of the legitimate government, as he said.
The period of the previous UN mandate for the transfer of aid to Syria ends today, as the Security Council renewed the aid mechanism on July 12 for a period of only 6 months, under pressure from the Russian opposition, unlike previous times, when the mechanism was extended by one year.
