After the initial Britain-France draft on humanitarian aid for Syria got loaded down with threats of sanctions and military action against the Assad government and rejected by Russia and China, a compromise draft bill is making the rounds.
The compromise bill, penned by Australia, Jordan and Luxembourg and based heavily on Russia’s own draft, is urging all sides to lift restrictions on aid shipments, threatening sanctions on an individual basis against those who block shipments.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says a deal on the final language of the bill could happen as soon as this week so long as no one tries to “politicize the issue” or put in any “one-sided” language.
In addition to threats of military action, Russia has objected to text in past proposals that had nothing to do with the aid itself, but presented a narrative about the civil war which put the blame virtually exclusive on the Assad government.
The sentiment that some sort of UN-sponsored' humanitarian force' is required to ensure the safe delivery of such aid will be a scuppering detail as well.