Russia, China vetoes threaten to end all UN aid to northern Syria

On Friday, Russia and China, for the second time this week, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have continued a UN humanitarian aid program in northern Syria.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Friday, Russia and China, for the second time this week, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have continued a UN humanitarian aid program in northern Syria.

With the vetoes of the two permanent members of the Security Council, the program has ended, at least temporarily, as of Saturday, and will not be renewed, unless the Council can reach a compromise understanding.

The program, which provides humanitarian aid to areas of Syria that are not under the regime’s control, was begun in 2014. It was renewed annually, until last January, when, at Russian insistence, it was renewed for only six months.

At the same time, Russia cut two of the four border crossings that had been used to bring aid into Syria. That included the Al-Yarubiyah crossing, which allowed for the movement of humanitarian supplies from Iraq into northeast Syria.

Al-Yarubiyah is no longer in use, and all UN aid to Syria’s northeast must now go through Damascus. But until July 10, two border crossings, both in northwest Syria, were still being used for UN aid: Bab al-Hawa, through which supplies were sent to the Idlib area, and Bab al-Salam, which was used to supply the Aleppo region.

Russia wants to reduce further the approved border crossings, so UN aid will move through only one crossing—Bab al-Hawa—in order to strengthen the authority of the Assad regime within Syria.

Russia also wants to use its approval of the UN humanitarian program as leverage against the US and European Union (EU) sanctions which have been imposed on Syria.

The US and European countries have been unwilling to accept the Russian terms and the result is the termination of the UN’s humanitarian aid program in northern Syria, at least for now, although it is expected that council members will continue to work on a compromise draft.

Friday’s vote was the third such vote this week. Initially, Germany and Belgium prepared a draft resolution that would have extended the aid program for a year, using three border crossings: the two in northwest Syria, as well as Al-Yarubiyah, whose function they wanted to restore.

However, in response to Russian objections, the German-Belgium draft dropped mention of the Al-Yarubiyah crossing, even before it was put to a vote on Tuesday. Nonetheless, Russia, backed by China, still vetoed the resolution, although all the other members of the Security Council approved it.

Subsequently, Russia submitted its own resolution, which would have extended the program for only six months and with only one designated border crossing: Bab al-Hawa.

On Wednesday, the Council voted on the Russian draft, but rejected it, as only four countries—Russia, China, Iran, and Viet Nam—supported it.

Emma Beals, an independent researcher and editor at “Syria in Context,” speaking to Kurdistan 24, warned that the resolution would now expire, cutting off all UN aid to northwest Syria.

“Sadly, within hours the mechanism will expire after no agreement was reached to extend the NW (Northwest Syria) mandate, though fraught negotiations are ongoing in an effort to secure a 11th hour reprieve,” she said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) earlier urged the Security Council to renew the cross-border aid to Syria.

“The cross-border operation out of Turkey is a lifeline for 2.8 million people in north-west Syria,” OCHA Regional Spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa, David Swanson, told Kurdistan 24. “There is currently no alternative that can match the scale and scope of the cross-border operation.”

“The cross-border operation from Turkey into the northwest has been responding at record levels to the acute needs of millions of civilians,” Swanson continued. “In June alone, some 1,759 trucks provided life-saving assistance to more than 6 million women, children and men, while May recorded the highest number of United Nations humanitarian aid trucks crossing per month since the establishment of the mechanism in 2014, with 1,781 trucks crossing from Turkey.”

Beals noted that COVID-19 had appeared in Idlib this week, “making an agreement all the more essential.” 

“More than four million people depend on cross-border aid, and an end to the mechanism would be devastating to the region, as alternative systems would take months to figure out,” she concluded.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie