Statement by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany spokesperson on the agreement on a cross-border mechanism for Syria in the UN Security Council on 12 July 2022

The agreement reached in the UN (United Nations) Security Council today to extend the cross-border mechanism was overdue. International support with humanitarian assistance is vital to the survival of millions of people in Syria. By blocking a better solution, Russia has ruthlessly imposed its own power interests on the backs of the suffering population. Despite the fact that this six-month extension is a minimal compromise, humanitarian assistance can now continue to be delivered from Turkey to northwestern Syria by the UN (United Nations) on the basis of the agreement reached today. This is the very least we can do as supplies for and the lives of two and a half million people, the vast majority of whom are women and children, depend on this to a large extent. Their need can at least be alleviated somewhat in this way, and the German Government will continue to help ensure that this happens. Last year, Germany provided more than 700 million euro for humanitarian measures in the context of the Syrian conflict, of which more than 100 million euro went to northwestern Syria. At this year’s Brussels donor

conference for Syria and neighbouring countries, Germany made the highest bilateral pledge of 1.05 billion euro. This means that Germany will continue to support the UN (United Nations)’s humanitarian assistance plans.