Russia attempt to halve UN cross-border aid to Syria fails
RUSSIA-A Russian bid to get the United Nations to reduce cross-border humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria was voted down by the Security Council on Wednesday with just four nations on the 15-member body voting in its favour, an official said. Russia put forward the proposal after it joined China on Tuesday in vetoing a oneyear extension to aid deliveries from Turkey through the two border crossings at Bab al-Salam, which leads to the Aleppo region, and Bab al-Hawa, which serves the Idlib region. The Russian resolution proposed halving humanitarian access by using only one crossing for six months. US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly
Craft told Reuters news agency she had urged her Security Council counterparts - who all voted in favour of Tuesday’s resolution - to oppose Russia’s proposal, describing the choice as “good versus evil.”
“We’re talking about the difference between life and death for millions of Syrians,” she said, adding that council members should continue to push to keep two border crossings open. Authorisation for the aid expires on Friday. “The draft resolution has not been adopted, having failed to obtain the required number of votes,” the President of the Security Council, German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, said.
(Al Jazeera)