UNSC approves six-month extension in aid delivery to Syria from Türkiye

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution extending a system for cross-border aid to Syria by six months, the duration demanded by Russia while other members had sought a full year.

The measure received votes in support from 12 of the 15 members, including Russia, China, and the Security Council's 10 non-permanent members.

Britain, France and the United States abstained from the vote, marking their disagreement with the shorter duration which they consider insufficient to properly plan the delivery of aid to war-ravaged Syria.

Ireland and Norway, which had sponsored the vetoed one-year-long extension resolution, circulated a new draft on Monday that provides for a six-month extension of deliveries through the Bab al Hawa crossing until January 10, 2023. 

As Russia demanded, a further six-month extension after that would require a new Security Council resolution.

Ireland’s UN Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason said before the vote that after difficult negotiations the two countries "redoubled efforts to meet the dire needs in Syria."

READ MORE: UN aid to Syria from Türkiye 'to continue' until January

Life-saving supplies

The aid delivery mechanism across Türkiye's border into Syria at the Bab al Hawa crossing is the only way United Nations assistance can reach civilians without navigating areas controlled by Syrian regime forces.

The system, in place since 2014, expired on Sunday.

The agreement breaks an impasse that had threatened to derail the life-saving supplies for the more than 2.4 million people in the northwestern Idlib region of Syria.

Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime on Friday vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have prolonged the mechanism by one year, and Western powers then voted down Moscow's competing resolution that proposed extending approval by just six months.

READ MORE: US envoy to UN: Türkiye crossing 'best for aid to Syria'