Russia tries to pressure through closing crossings: AANES official
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, a prominent official in the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) stated that the opening of border crossings in Syria is out of the hands of the US administration, and that the closure of government crossings is a Russian attempt to put pressure on the AANES.
“The opening of border crossings in Syria is out of the hands of the US administration, as it requires a decision from the UN Security Council,” AANES Spokesperson Luqman Ahmi, told North Press.
On March 29, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded the reopening of border crossings in Syria to bring in humanitarian aid.
“The decision of opening crossings in the Security Council is usually faced with a Russian veto,” Ahmi added.
“If the US administration wanted to open the crossings, it could open them by enforcing the humanitarian law that is above the Security Council,” he referred.
In July, Russia and China used their veto in the UN Security Council to reduce the number of entry points for humanitarian aid into Syria that do not require Damascus’s approval to one.
This point is located near the Turkish border in Bab al-Hawa; it allows aid to be delivered to northwestern Syria, which is controlled by Turkish-backed armed groups and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Blinken, chairing the UN Security Council’s monthly session, called for the reopening of the al-Ya’roubiya crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi border and Bab al-Salama on the Syrian-Turkish border, which were closed in 2020.
These crossings “provide assistance to 4 million Syrians and 1.3 million Syrians, respectively,” Blinken said.
“There is a Russian-Iranian conflict over the revenues of crossings,” Ahmi said when asked about the Syrian government’s closure of its crossings with the AANES.
“The crossings were closed by Russia implementing the agreements of Doha between Turkey, Russia and Qatar in an attempt to put pressures on the AANES,” he pointed out.
Since March 21, the Syrian government put restrictions on the movement of civilians and trade in three crossings linking its areas of control with the AANES-held areas.