UNITED NATIONSN, August 3. /TASS/. The West is using the situation with the cross-border aid mechanism in Syria to seek a change of power in the country, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said at a Security Council meeting.
"Despite all the benevolent slogans, donor aid from Western countries is not selfless and always carries political preconditions. A clear example is the situation with the mechanism of cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria, when Western countries are actually openly blackmailing the Syrian people, seeking a change of power," he said.
The Bab al-Hawa border crossing functioned within the framework of the cross-border aid mechanism in Syria in accordance with the UN Security Council mandate, which expired on July 11. The Security Council failed to adopt a resolution extending the mechanism's operation. On July 13, Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN Bassam Sabbagh announced that Damascus was allowing the Bab al-Hawa crossing to be used to deliver humanitarian aid, but the UN and its subordinate agencies involved in this work should coordinate their efforts with the country's central authorities.
The UN said it would look into Syria's proposed mechanism. Humanitarian supplies have not been delivered via the Bab al-Hawa crossing since then. Western countries reject Damascus' proposal because they believe that control over the delivery of humanitarian aid would be used by Syrian authorities for political purposes.