Russia will submit to the UN Security Council a draft resolution that leaves only one border crossing on the border with Turkey, through which humanitarian aid would be delivered to Syria by land, according to a statement by Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia.
Earlier, Russia and China vetoed in the UN Security Council a draft resolution by Belgium and Germany extending for a year the operation of two border crossings (Bab al-Hawa and Bab es-Salam) on the border of Syria and Turkey for the delivery of cross-border humanitarian aid. The check point's mandate expires on July 10.
"We will present our draft resolution, which implies the extension of the mechanism for six months, while limiting the number of existing checkpoints to one-the Bab al-Hawa checkpoint," said a statement published on the permanent mission's website.
Nebenzia's statement recalls Russia's position on the cross-border mechanism. "We announced it back in 2014, and since then it has remained unchanged. The mechanism was conceived as an emergency temporary measure that the Security Council approved in order to provide humanitarian support to a country in conflict. It is time to gradually wind down this mechanism in order to replace it with humanitarian deliveries, which will be carried out in accordance with the principles outlined in UNGA resolution 46/182," the Russian Ambassador notes.
He explained that the situation "on the ground" had changed significantly over the past six years.
According to Nebenzia, due to the fact that the size of the territory controlled by terrorists in Idlib has been reduced by 30%, Moscow is confident that one Bab al-Hawa checkpoint will be enough to meet all the humanitarian needs of the people living there.
According to him, only 14% of the total volume of cross-border humanitarian supplies to Idlib was carried out through the Bab es Salam checkpoint.
"At the same time, we once again call on all interested parties, including the Syrian government and the UN humanitarian mechanisms, to facilitate the process of delivering humanitarian supplies to all areas of Syria by increasing the capacity and effectiveness of humanitarian deliveries across the contact lines. <...> We also call on Council partners and other UN member States not to politicize the humanitarian dossier, instead of supporting our draft resolution, which will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of Idlib, " the statement said.
The regime of simplified delivery of humanitarian and medical supplies to Syria from neighboring States (primarily through the border with Turkey) through the front lines and border crossings has been in effect since July 2014. This mechanism was extended annually. Under this mechanism, UN humanitarian agencies and their partners were allowed to use routes through the lines of confrontation and the border crossings of Bab es Salam, Bab al-Hawa, al-Yarubiya and al-Ramta.
In early January, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution by Belgium and Germany to extend the mechanism for six months, while reducing the number of border checkpoints from four to two. The points on the border with Turkey, Bab es Salam and Bab al-Hawa, remain active. This decision was supported by Russia, China, and Syria. In particular, according to Russia's position, the need for two other border crossings has disappeared, since the situation" on the ground " has changed. According to the Russian side, the Syrian authorities have taken control of territories previously held by terrorists and are able to deliver humanitarian supplies there themselves. The reduction in the number of border crossings is extremely unsatisfactory for Western partners in the Security Council.
The mandate of the Bab es Salam and Bab al-Hawa border crossings expires on July 10, 2020. To continue the delivery of humanitarian aid via these routes, it is necessary to extend it.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zuma \ TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti