UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia vetoed on Tuesday a nine-month renewal of a massive U.N. aid operation delivering assistance into northwest Syria from Turkey ahead of an expected second U.N. Security Council vote on Moscow’s bid to instead extend the mandate for 6-months.
The mandate for operation, which has been delivering aid including food, medicine and shelter since 2014, expired on Monday. China abstained on the vote for an attempted compromise 9-month renewal, drafted by Switzerland and Brazil, while the remaining 13 Security Council member voted in favor.
The United Nations had wanted a 12-month renewal. Authorization is needed because Syrian authorities did not agree to the operation. In 2022 and 2020 the mandate for the operation ran out, but was renewed a day later.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Rami Ayyub)
