MOSCOW. July 16 (Interfax) - Moscow says following the endorsement of Resolution 2533 by the UN Security Council extending the mechanism of the trans-border delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria, the relief supplies will be made only across the Bab al-Hawa border checkpoint, and hopes for the soonest possible arrangements for humanitarian supplies from the country's inner regions in coordination with Damascus.
The resolution was passed by the UN Security Council in the early hours of July 12 (Moscow time).
"The endorsement of this resolution preserved the trans-border supplies for people in trouble in Idlib, which is still outside the Syrian government's control. The mechanism was extended by 12 months, but not by six months, as was envisaged earlier, that will allow the UN specialized agencies to improve the process of planning and preparations for humanitarian missions. The supplies will be made only across the Bab al-Hawa border checkpoint," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, which was published on its website on Wednesday.
"We hope that measures, which require arranging steady humanitarian supplies to all the parts of Syria from inner regions, in coordination with Damascus, will be undertaken within the established period," the statement said.
In general, over the past six years since the trans-border mechanism was set up, the situation in Syria has drastically changed, and "the Syrian government regained control over the larger part of its national territory, and is actively facilitating the provision of assistance to its citizens," the Foreign Ministry said.
"In this regard, we find it inexpedient to endlessly extend 'a temporary and urgent measure,' such as 'trans-border supplies,' which is applied at a larger extent not for its direct humanitarian purposes, but for political objectives seeking to undermine Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the Foreign Ministry statement reads.