New York: In accordance to a document seen by AFP on Friday, the UN is troubled by the "unacceptable conditions" Damascus has placed on allowing aid to reach rebel-held areas of northwest Syria through its Bab Al-Hawa crossing.
After a 2014 UN agreement expired on Monday, the delivery of humanitarian aid through the crossing was put on hold.
A letter from Syrian authorities this week allowing the use of the border crossing between Turkiye and Syria "contains two unacceptable conditions," according to a document sent to the UN Security Council by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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The Syrian government "stressed that the United Nations should not communicate with entities designated as 'terrorist,'" according to OCHA, which raised concerns.
It baulked at the second requirement, which required the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to "supervise and facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid" in northwest Syria.
According to the UN, more than 4 million people in northwest Syria are in need of basic necessities like food, water, medicine, and other supplies.
Through a 2014 agreement, the UN mainly sends aid to northwest Syria via the Bab Al-Hawa crossing in neighbouring Turkiye.
On Thursday, Syria declared that it would grant the UN permission to use Bab Al-Hawa for a six-month period to deliver essential humanitarian aid to millions of people in rebel-held areas.
Syria made a "sovereign decision" to allow the aid to continue, according to Bassam Sabbagh, the country's ambassador to the UN, who made the announcement to reporters on Thursday.
That announcement came after a mechanism that had permitted UN convoys to use the crossing to access rebel areas without Damascus' permission expired on Monday.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stated on Friday that "there have been no crossings with United Nations humanitarian aid in Bab Al-Hawa," adding that authorities were reviewing Syria's permission.
He stated, "We're looking at... what exactly was expressed in the letter. He continued, "These things need to be studied carefully," reiterating the UN's "commitment to delivering humanitarian assistance guided by humanitarian principles of non-interference, of impartiality."
The OCHA document, which AFP was able to obtain, also emphasised the need to "review" and "clarify" certain passages of the letter from Damascus, stating that the deliveries "must not infringe on the impartiality... neutrality, and independence of the United Nations' humanitarian operations."
The UN aid deliveries are routinely criticised by Damascus as an infringement on its sovereignty, and longtime ally Moscow has been working to undermine the agreement.
Tuesday saw Russia block a nine-month extension of the agreement and then prevent a six-month extension from passing due to a lack of support.
The 15 members of the UN Security Council have been attempting to reach an agreement to extend the cross-border aid agreement for days.
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More than 500,000 people have died, millions have been displaced, and Syria's infrastructure and economy have both been severely damaged by the conflict.
"The scale of needs in Syria requires an unrestricted and comprehensive approach to humanitarian aid," the ICRC delegation in New York told AFP.
"We are prepared to provide assistance in any way that fits within our means and with the agreement of all parties involved."
