Although humanitarian aid to Syria was hardly a top agenda item during President Joe Biden’s Europe tour, Washington has signaled that it might be ready for some sort of position shift over the matter, which remains a top priority for the Biden administration's Syria policy. As Washington’s talks with Moscow have been focusing on keeping the international aid flowing and reopening border crossings, Turkey holds a key position in the negotiations.
Although Biden has failed to secure a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putin to renew cross-border humanitarian access to Syria during their June 16 meeting, remarks indicate both leaders might be ready for a change.
“[Putin] indicated that he was prepared to, quote, ‘help’ on Afghanistan … on Iran,” Biden said following the June 16 meeting. “In return, we told him what we wanted to do relative to bringing some stability and economic security or physical security to the people of Syria and Libya,” he added.
Currently, the most pressing issue in the negotiations is keeping the Cilvegozu/Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Turkish border open. A UN Security Council mandate to keep the crossing open will end by July 10, amid warnings by civic groups of a looming catastrophe. The Biden administration and international organizations are also pushing for authorization to reopen the Bab al-Salama crossing on the Turkish border and al-Yarubiyah between Iraqi Kurdistan and northeast Syria.
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