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Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia vetoed a resolution concerning cross-border Syria aid on Tuesday. File Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo
July 12 (UPI) — Russia has used its veto power to block a U.N. Security Council resolution that would continue to send humanitarian aid to millions of people in northwestern Syria, attracting the vitriol of the United States, France and Britain.
The 15-member body Tuesday voted near unanimously in favor of a resolution, submitted by Brazil and Switzerland, for the nine-month reauthorization over the use of the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Turkey border for the delivery of humanitarian aid into the war-torn country, but it failed as Russia, as the sole country to disapprove of the plan, nixed it with a veto.
Thirteen countries approved the plan while China voted absent. The use of the veto now triggers a U.N. General Assembly meeting to debate Russia’s casting of it.
“This is a sad moment for the Syrian people and for this council, save for one country,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, said following the vote, according to a readout of the session.
“We must all urge Russia to come back to the table in good faith. There is no time to waste. Lives hang in the balance.”
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, defended his veto by saying Western countries provoked him in casting it as the resolution’s “main characteristic feature is total negligence of the interests of the Syrian people.”
Russia at the session had also submitted its own six-month renewal resolution, that was shot down in a vote that saw only China join in approval. The United States, France and Britain rebuked it while 10 other nations voted absent.
The United Nations had called for the resolution to be renewed for 12 months. Prior to the Tuesday vote, Sergio Franca Danese, Brazil’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said he and his Swiss counterpart worked hard to achieve consensus on the plan.
“Russia has yet again used their veto to restrict lifesaving humanitarian access to 4 million Syria people,” Barbara Woodward, Britain’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said following the vote.
“There is no rational or moral argument to veto this resolution.”
France’s representative to the U.N., Nicolas de Riviere, was quick to remind the council that 90% of the humanitarian aid to Syria is funded by the European Union, Britain, United States, Canada and Japan, while Russia “provides virtually no” aid to the country.
“The humanitarian community is unanimous: a renewal of only six months is not enough,” he said, defending his vote against the Russian resolution. “Humanitarian operations need predictability and stability. A six-month renewal would be all the more problematic as it would plunge Syria into uncertainty in the middle of winter, when aid is most needed.”
In Washington, D.C., State Department spokesman Matthew Miller chastised Russia over its “inhumane veto” used against a resolution to renew a “vital lifeline for the Syrian people.”
“Russia blocked this resolution despite overwhelming council support and the calls of the U.N. secretary-general, U.N. humanitarian agencies and NGOs working on the ground,” he told reporters during a press conference.
“For our part, the United States will continue to support the Syrian people, and we remain committed to reauthorizing the cross-border mechanism. It’s a moral and humanitarian imperative, and the Syrian people are counting on us to get this done.”
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the global body chief was disappointed that the council failed to agree on extending the humanitarian mechanism.
“U.N. cross-border assistance is a lifeline for millions of people in northwest Syria, where humanitarian needs have reached an all-time high amidst the ongoing conflict and the aftermath of devastating earthquakes,” he said, adding that Guterres calls upon all Security Council members to “intensify” efforts in supporting the delivery of assistance to those in dire need in the country.
Syria has been devastated by civil war since 2011 when the regime of President Bashar al-Assad launched a crack down on pro-democracy protesters.
According to the U.S. Congressional Service, more than 500,000 people have been killed in the war.
Senior United Nations officials said late last month that Syrians are facing an “ever-worsening humanitarian crisis” and called on the council to renew the cross-border humanitarian operation.
Deliveries of U.N. aid to Syria will continue via two other crossings through Aug. 13 with the consent of the Syrian government, U.N. officials said.
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