Russia vetoes a nine-month extension proposal for Syria's cross-border aid lifeline that delivers to rebel-held areas of the latter after the Security Council failed to pass two rival resolutions re-authorizing them.
Moscow's decision comes despite it being an ally of the Syrian government and as 13 of 15 other council members supporting the extension. Following the veto, the United States has accused Russia of an "act of utter cruelty."
Russia Vetoes Extension of Syria Cross-Border Aid
Hundreds of lorries pass through the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey every month, carrying aid for 2.7 million civilians who depend on it for food, shelter, and healthcare. The lifeline has become even more crucial following a powerful earthquake that struck the region earlier this year, killing over 4,500 and displacing 50,000 families.
While the decision of the Security Council means that the United Nations is required to cease aid deliveries through Bab al-Hawa immediately, it is allowed to continue to use two additional border crossings that the Syrian government permitted until Aug. 13, as per BBC.
Additionally, the UN said that its agencies already had pre-positioned supplies on the ground in north-western Syria so that it could address humanitarian needs continuously for the moment despite the veto.
Millions of people in north-western Syria are trapped in the area, the last stronghold of the jihadist groups and Turkish-backed rebel factions. They have fought President Basha al-Assad's government for the past 12 years.
The Security Council first authorized the UN to conduct cross-border aid deliveries into areas of Syria that are outside the government's control in 2014. However, in 2020, China and Russia used their veto powers as permanent council members to stop deliveries via Jordan and Iraq.
On top of Russia vetoing the nine-month extension, it suggested a six-month extension, which was rejected, with only China supporting Moscow's proposal. For a long time, the Security Council has been divided over the situation in Syria, according to Aljazeera.
Proposing a Six-Month Extension Instead
Most members of the council support cross-border operations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. They have called for a full-year extension of the aid deliveries despite Russia's insistence on only half a year.
In a statement, Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, signaled that the aid operation would no longer continue if other nations supported more than a six-month extension.
Following the veto, Nebenzia said that the council should close down the cross-border mechanism if Moscow's draft were not supported. He added that Russia would not accept the technical rollover for any period.
The original nine-month extension proposal was tabled by Brazil and Switzerland and included increasing funding, enhanced early recovery activities, and humanitarian mine action. Brazilian Ambassador Sergio Franca Danese said they went all out to achieve a text that would be as consensual as possible.
On the other hand, Swiss Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl said that the resolution co-sponsored by her country would have assured the continuation of humanitarian aid by all cross-border and crossline modalities, said the United Nations News.
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