Vasily NebenzyaUN, Apr 26Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya sees no arguments in favor of extending the mechanism for cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria, which expires in July. The regime of simplified delivery of humanitarian and medical supplies to Syria from neighboring states (primarily across the border with Turkey) through the front lines and border crossings have been operating since 2014. This arrangement has been renewed annually. Under this mechanism, UN humanitarian agencies and their partners initially had the right to use routes through the lines of confrontation and four border checkpoints: «Bab es-Salam» and «Bab al-Hawa» on the border of Syria and Turkey, «Al-Yarubiya» on the border with Iraq and «Al-Ramta» on the border with Jordan. As the Syrian army began to establish control over more and more territory, Damascus and Moscow began to advocate a gradual phasing out of the border crossings.Turkey closed the skies for Russian aircraft flying to Syria Nevertheless, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution of the Russian Federation, the United States, Ireland and Norway to extend the operation of this checkpoint for six months, with the possibility of a further extension for another six months. The six-month deadline expired in January 2022. As a result, the operation of the Bab el-Hawa checkpoint was extended for another six months — now its term expires in July. The condition for the further operation of the transition is, among other things, an increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid across the lines of contact. Western countries are actively in favor of extending the operation of the Bab el-Hawa checkpoint, as well as for the resumption of the work of other border crossings. As Nebenzia pointed out at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday , the UN humanitarian plan for Syria 2022 for the early recovery of medical and educational facilities, as well as water systems, is significantly underfunded. «The implementation of projects for the development of reconstruction is subject to preliminary political conditions on the part of donors,» the permanent representative of the Russian Federation said. «In many respects for these reasons, more than half of Syrians still live in areas in need of mine clearance, and the supply of electricity for a third of households does not exceed two hours per day,» he said. Nebenzya drew attention to the fact that a similar situation is observed 9 months after the adoption of the Security Council resolution on the extension of the work of the Bab el-Hawa checkpoint. Meanwhile, this resolution was intended to establish regular internal access to all parts of Syria and intensify early recovery. «In Idlib, only three cross-line convoys (convoys going through the lines of contact) were able to pass during this time. And there is no supply of the north of the country from Damascus at all» 
Syria sent a letter to the UN about the war crimes of the coalition in Raqqa about the lack of the necessary agreement on the part of the terrorists and a nod towards unsafe conditions for the work of humanitarian workers. «We perceive all this as an elementary unwillingness to solve the problem of humanitarian supplies from Damascus, including to Idlib. We will not hide the fact that in these conditions there are arguments for further extension of the cross-border resolution practically does not remain,» Nebenzya said.
