UNITED NATIONS (AP/Al Jazeera) – The UN Security Council is set to vote Monday on a resolution that would continue humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria’s militant-held northwest from Turkey for another six months.
Russia, which is allied with the Syrian government, has succeeded in reducing cross-border assistance into Syria in recent years, with the aim of eliminating it.
Russia has repeatedly said the cross-border aid deliveries that began in 2014 were meant to be temporary.
It views the authorization as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and believes the delivery of aid to the northwest region should only be carried out from Damascus across the front line.
There were no objections, however, to the final draft of the resolution, which was co-sponsored by Brazil and Switzerland, and several council diplomats said they expect Russia to abstain in Monday’s vote. They spoke on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private.
But there is still uncertainty, reflected in comments Friday from the United Nations and the International Rescue Committee, one of the major aid providers.
Last month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in a report that the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria is worsening, and said if aid deliveries from Turkey to northwest Idlib aren’t renewed millions of Syrians may not survive the winter.
Guterres said deliveries have increased across conflict lines within the country. But he said they cannot substitute for “the size or scope of the massive cross-border United Nations operation.”
On Tuesday, the UN humanitarian chief and heads of the UN food, health, refugee, migration and population agencies issued a joint appeal to the Security Council to extend cross-border deliveries. They warned failing to do so “will be catastrophic for 4.1 million people in non-government controlled areas.”
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday that the UN remains “steadfast in our position” that millions of Syrians desperately need humanitarian help.
“We need to have the cross-border permission that will work in tandem with the cross-line,” he said.
David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said it is critical to renew cross-border aid deliveries after a year in which an economic downturn and a cholera outbreak have added to the immense difficulties Syrians in the northwest face after more than 11 years of foreign-backed conflict.