The UN Security Council on Tuesday extended the permit for cross-border aid to Syria by a further six months.

The vote was preceded by a diplomatic war of nerves.

Authorization by the Security Council expired on Sunday after Russia, which supports Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, vetoed a draft Norwegian-Irish resolution on Friday.

The current resolution is close to the Russian ideas.

Christopher Ehrhardt

Correspondent for the Arab countries based in Beirut.

  • Follow I follow

Moscow is trying to limit cross-border UN aid as much as possible because it is beyond Assad's control.

It is routed from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing in the north, which the regime does not control.

At Moscow's instigation, the number of possible crossings has been reduced from four to one in recent years.

In addition, the period in which approval by the UN Security Council must be renewed has now been shortened.

"Ruthlessly enforced own power interests"

According to aid organizations, six months is too short to be able to plan properly.

"We are relieved that the Security Council finally voted to extend the resolution on cross-border aid to Syria," said David Milliband, president of the International Rescue Committee.

From a humanitarian point of view, however, it was "inexplicable" that the duration had been reduced to six months.

"By blocking a better solution, Russia has ruthlessly asserted its own interests in power at the expense of those in need," said a statement by the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the new regulation has the advantage that he can always make new demands so that the aid that millions of lives depend on does not run dry.

Moscow also wants to ensure that the boundary between humanitarian aid and reconstruction aid is further blurred