Under the title "Battle at the UN Security Council: Competing Drafts on Assistance to Syria," the Al Arabiya website reported that the corridors of the Security Council today, Friday, are witnessing what resembles "drama" or "action," in light of the expected voting process at 14:00 GMT, on two competing resolutions to renew the mandate of Resolution 2533, issued in July 2020 until July 11, 2021, regarding the entry of humanitarian aid into Syria via the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Turkish border, according to Al Arabiya's correspondent.
After several rounds of consultations since June 25, when the first draft of a resolution drafted by Norway and Ireland, which are in charge of humanitarian affairs in Syria, was circulated to call for the opening of three crossings (Bab al-Salam, Bab al-Hawa with Turkey, and al-Yaarubiyah with Iraq) for one year, this draft resolution settled on calling for the maintenance of only one crossing, Bab al-Hawa with Turkey, for a period of one year. Norway and Ireland finalized the two-page draft, colored blue, yesterday in preparation for today's vote.
**New Developments from the Russian Side**
However, new developments arose from the Russian side, as Moscow, which did not participate in the final phase of negotiations and did not send its legal experts to the negotiations, proposed another competing draft (one page) to keep Bab al-Hawa open for assistance for only six months. It is still undetermined which of the two resolutions will succeed in the council. It is noted that the council's mandate for the UN cross-border assistance operation, which started in 2014, ends on Saturday. Any decision to extend it requires nine votes and the non-use of the veto by any of the permanent members (Russia, China, the United States, France, and Britain).
**"Extension is Not Possible!"**
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya responded to a question about whether his country would use its veto against the draft resolution to extend the assistance operation for 12 months, stating that it cannot be extended for a year, without providing further clarification. Previous Russian positions have considered that the assistance operation is outdated and violates Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Meanwhile, a US mission official at the UN emphasized that the issue of renewing for 12 months is "very important." The Security Council had permitted for the first time the entry of humanitarian aid across borders into Syria in 2014 via four crossings, but last year, it was reduced to one crossing from Turkey, which is under the control of opposition fighters and factions supported and loyal to Ankara, due to the opposition of Russia and China at that time to extend the mandate for aid entry from the four crossings.
