Germany, Belgium asked UN Security Council to open Til Koçer crossing for six months

Germany and Belgium submitted to the UN Security Council this week a draft resolution extending the duration of a year of authorization to cross the Syrian border to provide humanitarian aid, a project that could face Russian opposition, according to diplomats.

The text indicates that "more than 11 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance, and that the cross-border vehicles remain an urgent and temporary solution to meet the needs of the population."

Russia imposed a significant reduction in the number of permissible border crossing points, from four to two in January, after using the fourteenth veto since the war in Syria began in 2011.

Moscow also committed its partners to reducing its mandate to six months, after extending it for a year, and the mandate expires on July 10.

In its draft resolution, Germany and Belgium propose to extend the license again, for a year, until 10 July 2021 for the two crossing points used on the Turkish border.

A Western diplomat, who asked not to be identified, said that these two border points in Bab al-Salam and Bab al-Hawa are "a priority because the situation in Idlib remains very fragile."

Berlin and Brussels also demand in their text for a six-month "exception" for the re-use of al-Yaarubiyah (Til Koçer) border crossing on the Iraqi border. This point was closed at the beginning of the year, and it was allowing medical assistance to the 1.3 million people living in the northeast.

The diplomat himself promised that saying - as Russia claims - (aid could pass through Damascus rather than making it pass through the Syrian border is not correct and constitutes Russian propaganda).

In an interview with reporters in early June, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Kraft, said that "the inability to provide humanitarian aid to Syria will lead to the death of innocent people and condemn millions to a dark future."

According to the United Nations, cross-border aid, which Russia denounces on the grounds of an infringement on Syria's sovereignty, remains essential.

T/S

ANHA