The UN Security Council hopes it can proceed with a vote later on Friday on two dueling resolutions outlining the process of cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria, Kuwait Ambassador to the United Nations Mansour Al-Otabi said on Friday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2019) The UN Security Council hopes it can proceed with a vote later on Friday on two dueling resolutions outlining the process of cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria, Kuwait Ambassador to the United Nations Mansour Al-Otabi said on Friday."We hope that we will vote on the draft today," Al-Otaibi said ahead of the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria. "There is progress, but still, we cannot say that we reached an agreement."
Russia originally submitted a draft resolution that asks the UN Security Council to extend the authorization for the humanitarian aid delivery mechanism for six months and preserve two of the existing four cross-border delivery points.
The so-called "Humanitarian Troika" comprised of Belgium, Germany and Kuwait prepared its draft resolution proposing extending the mechanism for one year and adding one cross-border point to the existing four.
The UN Security Council was supposed to hold a vote on the draft resolutions on Thursday; however, its members could not reach an agreement and decided to postpone the decision-making until Friday.
The humanitarian Troika then proposed a "compromise" draft resolution to extend the mechanism for another year, but keep three points for cross-border humanitarian assistance instead of the existing four. The new draft resolution stipulates excluding the Al-Ramtha crossing, located on the border between Syria and Jordan.
Meanwhile, Belgian Ambassador to the United Nations Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve said that late on Thursday that a new proposal has been made to bridge the gap between the different positions in the UN Security Council, but did not elaborate.
"Of course that [the new proposal] had to be checked with the capitals, that is why we are waiting for reactions this morning," de Buytswerve said. "We cannot say yes, for sure, that is going to work."
The cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism expires on January 10, 2020.
