A UN SECURITY Council vote on extending cross-border aid into Syria’s rebel-held northwest has been postponed.

The extension was taken to try to soften Russia’s stance, which has veto powers, diplomatic sources said.

The vote originally set for Thursday is on a draft resolution to keep open the only remaining entry point for aid into northwest Syria that bypasses Damascus.

Ireland, along with countries like Norway and the US, is in favour of extending use of the border-crossing.

“The idea [for the vote] is Friday now,” one diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity, with another source saying postponing would allow for “more time to finish the negotiation.” 

The UN’s cross-border aid authorisation, in place since 2014 and sharply curtailed last year under pressure from Moscow, expires on Saturday.

Russia, which holds veto power at the council and is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, may block the renewal, preferring to see aid delivered across front lines from Damascus and arguing the existing crossing is used to supply arms to rebel fighters.

During a meeting on the issue on Tuesday, Moscow had “maintained its position, which has been clear for a long time,” a Russian diplomat told AFP.

The draft resolution was presented by non-permanent council members Norway and Ireland in late June and seeks to keep the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey into Syria open for one year.

Some three million people live in jihadist-dominated northwest Syria, more than half displaced by the country’s decade-long conflict.

The resolution also calls for reopening a second crossing point, Al-Yarubiyah, which allows supplies to reach Syria’s northeast from Iraq.

© AFP 2021