(Istanbul) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to agree to the extension of the cross-border mechanism allowing the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria in areas not controlled by the power of Damascus.
Posted at 11:50 a.m.
“Mr. Erdogan insisted that he attaches importance to the extension of the cross-border mechanism in Syria” in a telephone discussion with Mr. Putin, writes the office of the Turkish presidency in a press release as Russia blocks the extension of this mechanism to the UN Security Council.
PHOTO ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Sochi, in October 2019
For its part, in its report of the telephone conversation, the Kremlin did not mention the cross-border mechanism, stressing that the two leaders had discussed preparations for a summit meeting “in the near future”.
Russia, an ally and military supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, vetoed on Friday in the UN Security Council a draft resolution extending by one year the authorization of cross-border aid to Syria without the endorsement of power in Damascus.
In force since 2014, this system helps more than 2.4 million people in areas of Idlib province and the north of the neighboring province of Aleppo under the control of jihadist and rebel groups.
The Bab al-Hawa crossing point on the Turkish border is the only one through which humanitarian aid can pass and reach civilian populations without passing through areas controlled by Damascus forces.
According to several diplomats, a vote in the Security Council on the extension of this device is still possible this week, and the negotiations continue in order to break the impasse resulting from the Russian veto.
In its report, the Kremlin emphasized the “Astana process” for peace in Syria in which Russia, Turkey and Iran are participating.
Turkey’s presidential office says Erdogan also called on Putin to ‘act’ on a UN proposal to establish safe corridors, avoiding mines, to allow exports to resume in the Black Sea Ukrainian cereals blocked in the ports.
This proposal received only limited support from both Russia and Ukraine.
For its part, the Kremlin reported no progress on the issue of grain exports.
MM. Putin and Erdogan “had an exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine, including in the context of efforts [déployés] to ensure the safety of maritime traffic in the Black Sea and the export of cereals to world markets,” the statement said.
Mr Erdogan, who has been trying to assert his good working relationship with both Mr Putin and the power in Kyiv, has been offering to meet his Russian counterpart for months in order to overcome the extreme tensions that have developed since the invasion from Ukraine.