Syria allows the delivery of UN aid through Türkiye for another 6 months

Syria’s representative to the United Nations, Bassam Sabbagh, announced Thursday that his country will allow the passage of humanitarian aid through Bab al-Hawa, the main border crossing from Turkey to areas not controlled by Damascus in the northwest of the country. It has been closed since Monday, after not extending its entry mechanism.

Sabbagh told reporters in New York that Damascus “made the sovereign decision to allow the United Nations and its competent agencies to use the Bab al-Hawa crossing to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians in need in northwestern Syria, in full cooperation and coordination with the Syrian government for a period of six months, starting from July 13.”

The Syrian government granted its approval to the United Nations to use the Bab al-Hawa crossing for another six months, after the Security Council failed to renew the authorization for the aid delivery operation.

Al-Sabbagh wrote in a letter to the Security Council that the delivery of UN aid must take place “in full cooperation and coordination with the Syrian government.”

Earlier Thursday, Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy representative to the United Nations, described the Syrian government’s decision to allow use of the border crossing with Turkey as a “commendable” step.

Polyansky stated on his Twitter account that there is now no need for a Security Council resolution with “three border crossings into Idlib authorized.” using the United Nations It has according to the sovereign decisions of Syria.

Last Tuesday, Russia vetoed a draft resolution to renew the mechanism Delivering aid across the Syrian border for an additional nine months.

The British mission to the United Nations said that the Security Council also rejected a Russian draft resolution to renew aid delivery for only six months.