(ANSAMed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 07 - The Syrian government, embodied by the disputed President Bashar al Assad supported by Iran and Russia, has reiterated that the distribution of international aid for the post-earthquake emergency must be managed from Damascus and not bypass government control via Turkey .
This was stated by the Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bassam Sabbagh, quoted by the Syrian government agency Sana.
However, the Syrian areas most affected by the earthquake are those closest to the border with Turkey: they have been out of government control for years and are under Turkish influence and control or by militias co-opted by Ankara.
A month ago, the Security Council had extended for six months, with Russia's approval, the mechanism for supplying humanitarian aid to the tormented north-western areas of Syria through Turkish territory without going through Damascus.
Also in the event of the emergency caused by the earthquake, the UN and the international organizations accredited to the United Nations intend to get aid to the Syrian regions of Idlib and north of Aleppo via Turkish territory.
And this is in contrast with the position of the Syrian central government, which instead claims full and exclusive authority to manage aid throughout the national territory, as the Syrian ambassador to the UN, Sabbagh, stated in the last few hours.
(ANSAMed).
