Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations declared that he did not see any reason to continue delivering humanitarian aid from Turkey to the opposition-held northwest, accusing the West and the United Nations of not doing enough to provide aid through Damascus and failing to fund “early reconstruction projects” to improve the lives of millions of Syrians.
“We do not agree to the continuation of the status quo at any cost, and we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the terrorists of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” the most powerful armed group in northwest Idlib, “used power and exploited humanitarian aid,” Dmitry Polyansky said during a UN Security Council session on Friday.
Factions loyal to Turkey in Syria
He also added that supporters of cross-border aid “show no desire” to deliver aid across conflict lines through Damascus, which can be easily arranged, “which leaves us no reason to maintain the existing cross-border mechanism.”
Polyansky added that the fighters of Al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, “openly declare that they will not allow the passage of humanitarian shipments from Damascus at the expense of the delivery of aid across the border.”
It is noteworthy that China and Russia vetoed in early July 2020 a United Nations resolution that would have maintained two border crossing points from Turkey to deliver humanitarian aid to Idlib.
Days later, the council agreed to provide aid through only one crossing, Bab al-Hawa. This mandate was extended for one year on July 9, 2021 and expires in about 6 weeks.