The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations assured on Monday that the aid will reach “all Syrians throughout the territory”, including the one they do not control, after meeting with the UN secretary general to ask the organization for help in dealing with to the devastating earthquake.
Bassam Sabbagh delivered on Monday in New York to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, a request for help from his government, which promised to “do everything necessary” to facilitate international organizations “the delivery of humanitarian aid” to the earthquake victims that hit northern Syria and southeastern Turkey and has left at least 3,800 dead in both countries.
“We guarantee the UN that we are willing to help and coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid to all Syrians throughout the territory”the ambassador told the press, when questioned about the population of the rebel areas that escape the control of Damascus.
Currently, humanitarian aid in these regions, which have been hit by the earthquake, generally arrives via Turkey, thanks to a cross-border mechanism created in 2014 by a UN Security Council resolution.
Damascus and Moscow, its ally, question this mechanism, considering it a violation of Syrian sovereignty. Under pressure from Russia and China, the number of access points has been reduced to just one.
Questioned about the possible opening of new access points to help the populations victims of the earthquake, the ambassador assured that “We are willing to work with those who want to help Syrians from inside Syria”.
“Accesses from Syria exist, they can be coordinated with the government and we are willing to do so,” the diplomat said.
The UN has reiterated in recent years that the delivery of aid through the front lines, which need the agreement of Damascusdoes not cover the needs of the population in the northwest of the country.
“We hope to be able to deliver aid through the front lines,” Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for Antonio Guterres, said on Monday. But “this mechanism is a little more difficult” than the border device, he added, while assuring that the UN will bring as much help as possible through “whatever means” available.
