A senior U.S. official stated that President Joe Biden did not receive a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to agree to renew an international operation for delivering aid across borders to Syria, ahead of an expected showdown on the issue in the Security Council next month. Washington and several other Council member states are seeking to extend the operation, which Mark Lowcock, the U.N. aid chief, described as a "lifeline" for nearly three million Syrians in the northern part of the country. Russia questions the importance of the long-standing operation. Following the summit meeting between Biden and Putin in Geneva, the U.S. official said, "There was no commitment made, but we made it clear that this is of great importance to us for any other cooperation regarding Syria." The official characterized the upcoming renewal as a test of the possibility of U.S.-Russia collaboration.
The U.N. Security Council first authorized a U.N. and NGO operation for cross-border aid to Syria in 2014 through four points. Last year, the Council reduced this to a single crossing point from Turkey due to opposition from Russia and China to extending operations through all four points. The operation is set to expire on July 10. A decision in the Council to extend it requires nine votes in favor without any objections from the five permanent members: Russia, China, the U.S., France, and the U.K. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told U.S. lawmakers earlier on Wednesday, "This is a life-and-death vote for countless Syrians."
