MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. The West is exploiting the needs of those suffering from the post-earthquake predicament in Syria by pushing through the expansion of the mechanism of cross-border aid at the UN Security Council, a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry made public on Tuesday said.
"We are observing active attempts by the ‘troika’ of US-led Western member states of the UN Security Council to force through a new document on the expansion of the cross-border aid mechanism in Syria," the diplomatic agency noted. "By exploiting the needs of those affected by the earthquake and without waiting for a report of the representatives of the UN humanitarian wing on the situation on the ground, the West is pursuing its destructive policy toward violating the norms and principles of international humanitarian law, infringing on Damascus’ sovereignty and undermining Syria’s territorial integrity," the document explained.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that this involves adding two more crossings to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing which functioned until July 10 in accordance with the UNSC Resolution 2672 in order to deliver aid to areas uncontrolled by Damascus without Syria’s approval.
True motives
The Russian diplomatic agency stressed that genuine aid to Syrians is the last thing that interests the US, the UK and France. "In addition to Western countries not providing any support to Syria, they also continue to suffocate the country with unilateral sanctions which provoked a large-scale fuel crisis (there isn’t even enough to fill up ambulances) and banned the import of vital goods and equipment as well as money transfers," the ministry stated.
It pointed out that "the main goal of the authors of the new resolution is boosting supplies exclusively to the areas uncontrolled by Damascus under the pretext of the earthquake, including the terrorist enclave in Idlib occupied by militants from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (outlawed in Russia, formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, also outlawed in Russia).
The Russian Foreign Ministry explained that this is precisely why official statements by Syria’s authorities on their readiness to swiftly deliver humanitarian aid to all points in the country via checkpoints controlled by the government are being ignored.
The diplomatic office stressed that such underhanded and shameless actions by Western countries are not only unacceptable but also make one wonder about the true nature of the cross-border aid mechanism "which was created as an emergency and temporary measure in 2014 but is being increasingly used for exclusively political purposes".