Russian Foreign Ministry criticizes Western procrastination in providing international humanitarian aid to Syria

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that despite all the efforts made by the Syrian government, some international parties continue to procrastinate in providing the necessary humanitarian aid from the United Nations and agreed upon and in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement today: “In the matter related to aid, the Russian side points to the complete absence of the entry of aid from inside Syria through the lines, and the reason is the prevention of this by the militants of the “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” group, classified by the UN Security Council as a terrorist organization, and other illegal armed groups operating in the northern regions of Syria in Idlib Governorate.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that at the same time, even through the border crossings opened by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, aid is being delivered in a limited manner. Despite the current authorization, the largest border crossing at Bab al-Hawa was only operational at the end of September this year, handling about 65 trucks per month. The other two points are practically idle, with about 20 trucks passing through the Bab al-Salam crossing, while the flow of goods through the al-Rai crossing is completely non-existent.

The Foreign Ministry pointed out in its statement that there is a chronic shortage of funding to provide aid, indicating that the current UN humanitarian response plan, which was prepared before the earthquake of February 6, was only covered by less than 30 percent, and despite all the loud statements, Western donors are not fulfilling their commitments even to allocate funds for emergency aid, let alone projects in the field of early recovery and facilitating the return of refugees.

“In parallel, the United States and the European Union continue to strangle the economy of the Syrian Arab Republic through illegal unilateral sanctions that prohibit the import of construction materials, generators, medicines and medical equipment into the country, as well as other materials. At the same time, Washington and its allies, who illegally occupy areas in northeastern and southern Syria, are involved in the theft and smuggling of oil and grain from Syria, depriving the Syrian population of bread and energy resources,” she added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that several years ago, against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and in support of the UN Secretary-General’s call to ease restrictions, the United Nations began preparing a special report on the impact of unilateral measures on international humanitarian work in the Syrian Arab Republic, but the report has not yet been published despite regular requests from a number of member states of the organization, including representatives of Syria, stressing that “it has become clear that the fact of procrastination in publishing the report indicates premeditated intentions towards this country.”