UN fails to reach consensus as Russia, China veto Syrian aid

NEW YORK (REUTERS, AFP) - Russia and China vetoed a last-ditch attempt by Western members of the UN Security Council to extend approval - which expires on Friday (July 10) - for humanitarian aid to be delivered across two border crossings into Syria from Turkey for the next six months.

The UN says millions of Syrian civilians in the country's northwest depend on the humanitarian aid delivered from Turkey, describing it as a "lifeline".

The 15-member council has been split, with most members pitted against Syrian allies Russia and China, who want to cut the number of border crossings to one, arguing those areas can be reached with humanitarian help from within Syria.

Later on Friday, the council voted on a Russian draft text to approve aid deliveries for one Turkish crossing for one year, but it failed after only garnering four votes in favour.

Diplomats said work would continue to see if a compromise could be reached among council members.

The council has now unsuccessfully voted four times on the issue and Russia and China have cast two vetoes this week.

The Security Council first authorised the cross-border aid operation into Syria six years ago, which also included access from Jordan and Iraq.

Those crossings were cut in January due to opposition by Russia and China.

On Tuesday, Russia and China vetoed a bid to extend for a year approval of the two Turkey crossings.

Russia then failed to win enough support on Wednesday for its proposal to authorise one crossing for six months.

It has now vetoed altogether 16 council resolutions on Syria since Syria's President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on protesters in 2011.

For many of those votes, Moscow has been backed in the council by China.

The remaining 13 members voted in favour of the resolution, drafted by Germany and Belgium.

European countries and the US want to maintain two crossing points on the Turkish border - at Bab al-Salam, which leads to the Aleppo region, and Bab al-Hawa, which serves the Idlib region.

The UN authorisation allows the body to distribute aid to displaced Syrians without needing permission from Damascus.

Russia and China argue that the UN authorisation violates Syria's sovereignty, and that aid can increasingly be channelled through Syrian authorities.

The latest proposal by Russia, which claims to want continued aid for the insurgent Idlib region, would have kept only the Bab al-Hawa access point open, and for one year.

Moscow claims that more than 85 per cent of current aid goes through Bab al-Hawa and that the Bab al-Salam entry point can therefore be closed.

Western countries oppose it, with the US having described two entry points as "a red line".

In January, Moscow, Syria's closest ally, succeeded in having the crossing points reduced from four to two and in limiting the authorisation to six months instead of a year.

According to Washington's ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, keeping only one border crossing open would cut off 1.3 million people living north of Aleppo from humanitarian aid.

Another diplomat noted that "if the authorisation is renewed a few days late, it is not the absolute end of the world. It suspends the convoys for a few days, it does not put them in danger."

For the UN, keeping as many entry points open as possible is crucial, particularly given the risk of the coronavirus pandemic, which is spreading in the region.

In a report in June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a one-year extension of the aid to include the two current access points.

When asked on Thursday if the UN would be satisfied with a single entry point into Syria, body spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "We need more aid to go through the border. We do not need less to go through."

David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, called it a "dark day" for Syrian civilians and the UN.

He added it "defies logic or humanity to dismantle a system designed to bring life-saving aid to Syrians in the form of food, health supplies, vaccines, and now critical Covid-19 provisions".