Press release of the Foreign Minister of Germany Maas on the United Nations Security Council resolution on cross-border humanitarian aid in northwest Syria

I am very relieved that the members of the Security Council agreed to extend the so-called “cross-border ” resolution and to allow further humanitarian aid deliveries from Turkey to northwest Syria via the Bab al Hawa border crossing. Given the suffering that the people of Syria have endured in the conflict that has been going on for more than ten years, the extension of the resolution is an absolutely necessary step - but by no means sufficient on its own. 3.4 million people in the region depend on humanitarian aid. For them, this support is simply vital. The plight of the people in Syria worsened even more last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic collapse. In northwest Syria alone, 80 percent of those in need are women and children, and more than 1.6 million internally displaced people live in the simplest tent dwellings without any protection. Everywhere, there is a lack of essentials such as clean drinking water, food, clothing and medicine. Germany will continue to stand by the people in Syria and neighboring countries in this difficult situation and will not let up in both humanitarian aid and efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict.