Will aid deliveries to Syria help advance peace talks?
The United States said it would meet with Russia in Geneva on Feb. 19 for consultations on how to implement a Syria truce, as the United Nations said Feb. 17 that it was able to deliver 100 trucks of humanitarian aid to five besieged Syrian towns.
WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia will meet in Geneva on Feb. 19 for consultations on how to implement a Syria truce, as UN aid agencies said they were able to deliver 100 trucks of humanitarian aid to five besieged Syrian towns, in what the United States called a “step forward.”
"Today, we reached five besieged towns in urgent need of humanitarian assistance,” UN Syria humanitarian coordinator Yacoub el-Hillo said in a press release Feb. 17. “The convoys contained life-saving aid including food, medical supplies and equipment, vaccines, water and sanitation items for almost 100,000 people in need of aid."
“This is hopefully the beginning of the end of Syrian civilians’ suffering,” said the UN's Jan Egeland said.
The United States called the humanitarian deliveries a good first step and said it would like to build on the progress.
