UN Council vote on Syria aid extension pushed back

UNITED NATIONS: A UN Security Council vote on extending cross-border aid into war-torn Syria's rebel-held northwest has been postponed to try to soften veto-wielder Russia's stance, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

"The idea is Friday now," one diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity, with another source saying postponing would allow for "more time to finish the negotiation."

The vote originally set for Thursday is on a draft resolution to keep open the only remaining entry point for aid into northwest Syria that bypasses Damascus.

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The UN's cross-border aid authorization, in place since 2014 and sharply curtailed last year under pressure from Moscow, expires on Saturday.

Russia, which holds veto power at the council and is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, may block the renewal, preferring to see aid delivered across front lines from Damascus and arguing the existing crossing is used to supply arms to rebel fighters.

During a meeting on the issue Tuesday, Moscow had "maintained its position, which has been clear for a long time," a Russian diplomat told AFP.

The draft resolution was presented by non-permanent council members Norway and Ireland in late June and seeks to keep the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey into Syria open for one year. Until Wednesday, the resolution also included a request to reopen for one year a second crossing point, Al-Yarubiyah, which allows supplies to reach Syria's northeast from Iraq.

In a gesture towards Russia, Ireland and Norway abandoned that second request late Wednesday, according to diplomats. The two countries hope that Moscow will be more conciliatory with the proposed new draft, allowing a vote on Friday.

Some three million people live in jihadist-dominated northwest Syria, more than half displaced by the country's decade-long conflict.