Russia calls new UN Syria aid-access draft a "non-starter"

    By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau 
    UNITED NATIONS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Australia, Luxembourg and 
Jordan have presented to the five permanent U.N. Security 
Council members a draft resolution demanding full access for 
humanitarian aid workers across Syria, which was quickly 
dismissed by Russia as a "non-starter." 
    Western diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity 
that the council's five veto powers - Britain, China, France, 
Russia and the United States - received the draft resolution on 
Thursday but have yet to hold substantive discussions on it. 
    Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin made clear on Friday 
Moscow dislikes the draft. 
    "It's a non-starter, it's very disappointing, even worse 
than some texts we saw a couple of months ago," Churkin told 
Reuters at a Russian reception at U.N. headquarters to screen 
the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  
    "Why they even bothered to circulate it or produce it - I'm 
really surprised, I'm really surprised," he said. 
    When asked what aspects of the draft resolution he didn't 
like, Churkin replied: "Everything, it's a non-starter." 
    One council diplomat said the draft resolution would call 
for full implementation of previous council demands about aid 
access in Syria. It also urges an end to sieges, demilitarizing 
schools and hospitals and lifting bureaucratic obstacles that 
hinder aid delivery, the diplomat said.   
    It also "condemns human rights violations and abuses and 
aerial bombardments," the diplomat added. 
    Another Western diplomat said the Russians were trying to 
avoid a swift meeting on the draft, adding that the Russian 
delegation appeared to be "trying to postpone it as much as 
possible." 
     
    RUSSIAN AND CHINESE VETOES 
    Churkin on Wednesday called for more work to improve aid 
access before considering a resolution. He warned that any draft 
resolution on Syria aid access would likely "politicize the 
problem" and would simply be aimed at "whipping up the nerves." 
   
    Russia and China have vetoed three resolutions condemning 
Syria's government and threatening it with possible sanctions. 
    The United Nations says some 9.3 million Syrians, nearly 
half the population, need help and U.N. aid chief Valerie Amos 
has repeatedly expressed frustration that violence and red tape 
have slowed delivery of humanitarian assistance to a trickle. 
    Western members of the 15-member Security Council have been 
considering a resolution on aid for almost a year. After months 
of talks, the council eventually adopted a non-binding statement 
on Oct. 2 urging more access to aid.    
    But that statement produced only a little administrative 
progress, such as visas for aid workers and clearance for 
convoys. No action has been taken on big issues such as the 
demilitarization of schools and hospitals, and access to 
besieged and hard-to-reach communities.  
    After a first round of peace talks in Geneva last week 
initially failed to reach a deal on aid to some 2,500 Syrians 
trapped in the besieged Old City of Homs, Western and Arab 
nations planned to press for a legally binding resolution. But 
overnight a possible deal on Homs appeared to be emerging.  
    Syria evacuated three busloads of civilians from a besieged 
area of Homs on Friday, the first stage of a planned three-day 
humanitarian ceasefire in the city which has suffered some of 
the worst devastation of Syria's three-year conflict. 
   
    The United Nations says that well over 100,000 people have 
been killed in the Syrian civil war. The opposition Syrian 
Observatory for Human Rights has said that more than 136,000 
have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar 
al-Assad began in March 2011. 
 
 (Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid) 
 ((louis.charbonneau@thomsonreuters.com)(+1-212-355-6053)) 
 
Keywords: SYRIA CRISIS/UN