Russia, isolated, vetoed on Friday July 8 in the UN Security Council a draft resolution from Norway and Ireland extending by one year the authorization of cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria without Damascus' backing, Moscow only accepting a six-month extension.

The cross-border clearance expires on Sunday, leaving time for the 15 members of the Security Council to reach an agreement.

In favor of a one-year extension of the authorization, the ten non-permanent members of the Security Council should propose a nine-month extension to get out of the showdown between Moscow and the West in particular, diplomats told AFP.

"We are not giving up," said the French ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, indicating that the negotiations were continuing.

On Friday, however, Russia indicated that it was not in favor of an intermediate term.

"Six months does not mean zero," Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy told the media.

He hinted that Moscow would not accept any other text that did not take up six months.

"Stubbornness"

The UN cross-border mechanism has been in force since 2014 and is assisting, via the Bab al-Hawa crossing point on the Syrian-Turkish border, more than 2.4 million people in the Idlib region ( northwest) under the control of jihadist groups and rebels.

In the past, the Security Council has already renewed it for six months.

Thirteen out of the fifteen countries on the Security Council voted in favor of the Norwegian and Irish text.

China, which in the past has often accompanied Russia in its use of the veto in the Syrian dossier, this time chose abstention, a gesture noticed in the Western camp.

"The project ignored the sovereignty of Damascus," denounced Dmitry Polyanskiy, regretting the "stubbornness" of Westerners in wanting to impose another year.

It was a "compromise text", retorted the American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Six months is insufficient for serious aid to the population which requires "a clear timetable", she added.

Isolated but key Moscow

A second vote on Friday by the Security Council on Russia's competing plan, providing for a six-month extension, further accentuated Moscow's isolation.

The United States, France and the United Kingdom voted against, the ten non-permanent members of the Council abstained, the Russian project obtaining only two favorable votes, those of Moscow and Beijing.

To be adopted, a text must collect at least nine votes out of fifteen without a negative vote from one of the five permanent members of the Security Council (United States, France, United Kingdom, Russia, China).

On behalf of the ten non-permanent members of the Council, Kenya had announced before the elections that this group was "favorable" to a twelve-month extension of the system.

Since Wednesday, the 15 members of the Security Council have been negotiating continuously to try to break the impasse between the two contradictory durations wanted by the West and Russia.

Further consultations behind closed doors followed the votes and were likely to continue this weekend, a diplomat requesting anonymity told AFP.

In recent years, Moscow has used its right of veto several times to considerably reduce the UN system.

His veto, key in the Syrian file, was Friday the 17th since the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011.

In recent weeks, dozens of NGOs and several senior UN officials had lobbied for the cross-border permit to be extended for a year.

With AFP

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_EN