UNITED NATIONS, June 21(ABC): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the Security Council to extend its authorization of cross-border aid into northwest Syria by a year — a policy that veto-holding Russia has criticized.
The UN resolution allowing aid deliveries across the Syrian-Turkish border at Bab al-Hawa has been in effect since 2014, but is set to expire on July 10.
Nearly 10,000 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid passed through Bab al-Hawa last year bound for the rebel-held Idlib region. It is the only crossing through which aid can be brought into Idlib without navigating areas controlled by Damascus.
“I strongly appeal to the members of the Council to maintain consensus on allowing cross-border operations, by renewing resolution 2585 for an additional 12 months,” Guterres said at the Security Council s monthly meeting on Syria.
“It is a moral imperative to address the suffering and vulnerability of 4.1 million people in the area who need aid and protection,” said Guterres.
“When it comes to delivering life-saving aid to people in need across Syria, all channels should be made, and kept, available.”
Russia, an ally of Damascus, could veto a proposal to extend the cross-border aid mechanism, having already forced a reduction in the number of allowed border crossings on the grounds that it violates Syria s sovereignty.
Norway s deputy ambassador, Trine Heimerback, said ahead of the Council meeting that in addition to humanitarian aid, the resolution s renewal “will also facilitate further early recovery projects.”
Her statement could be read as a hint that Western nations will assist in the early stages of Syrian reconstruction projects in exchange for Moscow allowing the cross-border aid resolution to pass.
Russia has long called for the West to participate in Syria s reconstruction, but some members of the Security Council, most vocally France, have refused until political reforms have been enacted.