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Russia, China Again Veto Aid to Millions of Syrians

Margaret Besheer

   NEW YORK - With only hours to go before a mandate to deliver aid across
   the border from Turkey into northwest Syria was due to expire Friday,
   Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution extending that assistance for
   six more months, threatening to totally shut down the operation.

   "The [U.N. Security] Council must reach a solution to ensure this
   critical lifeline for the Syrian people," Germany and Belgium said in a
   joint statement after the vote on the resolution they drafted. "Germany
   and Belgium are committed to this end. We will continue to advocate for
   extending the legal basis underpinning cross-border assistance."

   The council has been in a stalemate after multiple rounds of voting,
   vetoes and negotiations this week failed to yield a compromise to keep
   the cross-border aid operation moving. Diplomats said after the failed
   vote that the council would convene in closed consultations to discuss
   next steps.

   The United Nations and aid partners say some 3 million people in
   northwest Syria benefit from assistance that flows through the two
   crossings, known as Bab al-Salam and Bab al-Hawa.

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