Russia’s UN ambassador on Wednesday dismissed US efforts to reopen shuttered transit routes for aid supplies into Syria as a “non-starter” before an important Security Council vote on the issue.
Vasily Nebenzya said Moscow rejected Washington's plan to keep the last remaining aid checkpoint into Syria open and to reopen two crossings that were closed last year, saying cross-border supply lines were no longer needed.
The UN Security Council has until July 10 to agree on whether to renew its mandate for cross-border aid convoys. Russia and the council's four other permanent members can cast vetoes to torpedo any draft resolution.
“What we hear from our colleagues about reopening the closed cross-border points is really a non-starter,” Mr Nebenzya told reporters in New York.
The council first authorised cross-border aid operations into Syria in 2014 at four points — Bab Al Hawa between Turkey and Syria’s north-west, Bab Al Salam between Turkey and northern Syria, Al Ramtha near the Jordanian border and Al Yaroubia on the north-east frontier with Iraq.
Last year, the council cut that access to only Bab Al Hawa due to opposition from Russia and China.
The US and others have pushed for Bab Al Hawa to stay open and for aid vehicles to be allowed to enter Syria at Bab Al Salam and Al Yaroubia.
Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, says all aid should be overseen by the capital, Damascus, passing across front lines into the north-west and other regions, and claimed that western countries were politicising the issue.
The north-western Idlib region, accessible via Bab Al Hawa, is the last remaining rebel stronghold against Mr Al Assad’s government, which has largely regained control of Syria after a decade of civil war that has left the country in ruins.
Mr Nebenzya said he would “continue consulting” with council members on keeping Bab Al Hawa open and preventing humanitarian supplies from helping the Turkey-backed rebels in Idlib.
“We have to ensure stable deliveries from cross-line, from inside Syria, as well as on rectifying the defects of the cross-border [operation], including marking, labelling the humanitarian trucks and the control over the distribution of assistance,” the envoy said.
US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the crossings at their summit in Geneva on June 16, but a US official said they had failed to make any headway.
The UN and aid agencies have given warning of a humanitarian crisis in the north-west and millions of Syrians going without if the mandate for cross-border supplies lapses on July 10 without agreement within the Security Council.
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Hales' batting career
Tests 11; Runs 573; 100s 0; 50s 5; Avg 27.38; Best 94
ODIs 58; Runs 1,957; 100s 5; 50s 11; Avg 36.24; Best 171
T20s 52; Runs 1,456; 100s 1; 50s 7; Avg 31.65; Best 116 not out
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
