US Assess Russia as a Guaranteor of Syrian Camp Humanitarian Aid Delivery

On November 20, the head of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation Sergey Kuralenko said that Russia had offered the command of the US military contingent to jointly ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the al-Rukban camp. Now, the US side considers Russia to be a guarantor of the humanitarian aid deliveries to the camp.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Russia serves as a guarantor of the humanitarian aid deliveries to Syrian al-Rukban camp in Homs province, the press office of the Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve told Sputnik on Wednesday.

“We recently received a proposal from the Russians, and we will support the UN-led agreements made in Amman, Jordan, earlier this month, in which the Syrian regime will facilitate the movement of a humanitarian assistance convoy to the edge of the 55 km deconfliction zone,” the press office said. “From there, Coalition-backed forces will then escort the convoy to the Rukban camp. However, we have not yet received concurrence from the Russians that the Syrian regime will facilitate delivery of the aid to the edge of the 55km zone.”

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“The Coalition has repeatedly told the Russians that we are prepared to help facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid to the Rukban IDP camp, but the Syrian regime has consistently prevented those efforts for the past several months,” the press office said, referring to internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The coalition said it has contacted United Nations agencies on the issue.

“Throughout the conflict in Syria, Coalition nations have provided extensive financial and operational support to U.N. agencies operating in and around Rukban. The Coalition has repeatedly advised the Russians that we have been prepared to help facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid, but the Syrian regime has consistently prevented those efforts,” the press office added.

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In October, the United Nations provided 24 humanitarian convoys by Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including six UN-ICRC, nine UN-SARC joint convoys and nine UN cross-border convoys, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

In early November, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria accused the United States of establishing a training camp near the Rukban refugee camp to forge a new "moderate opposition" out of various militia groups.