Russian-sponsored UNSC resolution on humanitarian aid for Syrians suggests stricter reporting procedures - Nebenzya
NEW YORK (United Nations). Dec 17 (Interfax) - Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya has expressed hope that the UN Security Council will adopt on December 19 the Russian-sponsored resolution on cross-boundary humanitarian aid for Syrians, as Moscow cannot accept the draft resolution proposed by Belgium, Germany and Kuwait.
"On the basis of humanitarian considerations, we have prepared our own draft resolution that suggests prolonging the [cross-boundary operations] mechanism by six months, keeping the two most needed crossing points out of four. I hope that on December 19, when the previous resolution expires, we can adopt this simple and clear resolution," Nebenzya told reporters at the United Nations headquarters.
"The so-called humanitarian troika in the Security Council - Belgium, Germany and Kuwait - have come up with their own resolution that has little to do with the actual situation on the ground today," he said.
"The resolution should be about prolonging or not prolonging cross boundary operations, and the resolution in question is more like a Christmas tree," he said.
The Western version of the resolution is unacceptable. "It is unacceptable for us. If our proposal fails, this would mean that the mechanism isn't extended. Who is going to benefit from that, I don't know. I will simply tell everyone that it was a political game, not care for humanitarian aid to the Syrian population," he said.
Russia "was never delighted with cross-boundary humanitarian operations [...] but we went for it, considering the conditions on the ground in Syria," he noted.
The Russian-sponsored resolution was presented to UN Security Council members on Monday, December 16, and unofficial consultations are now underway on it, he said.
The document "envisages tightening of the reporting about aid provided, as there were problems with that before," Nebenzya revealed.
"We have cleared the resolution of everything irrelevant to the need for prolonging this mechanism. We have just had a meeting with our colleagues in the Security Council, where we discussed this subject. We emphasized that we now need to prolong the mechanism rather than argue about how we see Syria's political future. This resolution should not become hostage to our political differences," he said.
Russia's colleagues in the Security Council "have their own thought on the matter, which are not quite the same as Russian ones, but they have shown understanding of the need to adopt a resolution focused on humanitarian aspects," Nebenzya said.
The resolution sponsored by the humanitarian troika envisages an extension of cross-boundary operations to deliver humanitarian aid to Syrians under the aegis and control of the United Nations and without the need to get a permission from Damascus.