The UN Security Council on Saturday approved delivering humanitarian aid to Syria for a year through one border gate.
RESOLUTION WAS SUPPORTED BY 13 COUNTRIES
The 15-member council reduced the number of gates for aid deliveries from Turkey to Syria to one. Now only the Bab al-Hawa on the opposite of Cilvegozu border crossing will remain open for aid delivery for another year.
After strenuous backroom negotiations, the arrangement was reached to prevent Russia’s veto and to renew the authorization — which was in effect since 2014 and expired on Friday.
The resolution drafted by Germany and Belgium was supported by 13 countries, while Russia, China, and the Dominican Republic abstained.
Under the resolution, Bab al-Salam border crossing on the opposite of Oncupinar will remain closed for UN aid deliveries.
Earlier, Turkey had asked for an extension of the UN Security Council Resolution 2504 for another year to keep the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates open for delivering aid to Syria. As many as 300,000 vulnerable Syrians in northern Aleppo used to get the UN aid through the Bab al-Salam, which now stands closed.