1 00:00:00,399 --> 00:00:05,399 JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend a crucial aid 2 00:00:05,780 --> 00:00:10,780 operation for Syria one day before it was set to close, after a deal between the U.S. 3 00:00:11,790 --> 00:00:16,670 and Russia. The White House said that President Biden and Vladimir Putin discussed it on a 4 00:00:16,670 --> 00:00:21,670 phone call. But, as Nick Schifrin reports, some humanitarian groups say the deal doesn't 5 00:00:22,119 --> 00:00:27,119 go far enough for the millions of Syrians in desperate need. NICK SCHIFRIN: For Syrian 6 00:00:29,169 --> 00:00:34,169 children near the Turkish border, the only way to survive is to search through scraps. 7 00:00:34,390 --> 00:00:39,390 Ten-year-old Mohammad Adi begins every day at dawn. If he finds enough pieces of steel, 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,370 he can eat. MOHAMMAD ADI, 10 Years Old (through translator): I collect and sell steel I find 9 00:00:43,370 --> 00:00:47,870 here, so that I can afford to buy a loaf of bread. There's no one that can afford to spend 10 00:00:47,870 --> 00:00:52,870 money on us. We have to work, so that we can spend what we earn on ourselves. NICK SCHIFRIN: 11 00:00:53,460 --> 00:00:58,460 The children live here in the nearby Al-Amal camp. In Northwest Syria, desperation is everywhere. 12 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,810 Thousands of Syrians who have come here after fleeing their homes say all they have left 13 00:01:03,810 --> 00:01:08,810 is God and the United Nations. For the weathered and the weak, whose houses were destroyed 14 00:01:10,230 --> 00:01:15,230 by airstrikes, this arid camp is now home. Fahmy Al-Saud says if the last humanitarian 15 00:01:16,590 --> 00:01:21,590 aid crossing had closed, everyone would have turned to the trash not to trade steel, but 16 00:01:21,910 --> 00:01:25,240 for food itself. FAHMY AL-SAUD, Syria (through translator): If they close the border, where 17 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:30,240 will people go? They will go to the landfills. If they find fruit scraps, they will eat them. 18 00:01:30,450 --> 00:01:35,450 They will eat out of starvation, that level of starvation. NICK SCHIFRIN: In 2014, the 19 00:01:35,940 --> 00:01:40,770 U.N. Security Council approved four border crossings for humanitarian aid into Syria. 20 00:01:40,770 --> 00:01:45,770 In January 2020, Russia used a veto threat to close two crossings. Seven months later, 21 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:50,850 under pressure from Russia and China, the U.N. closed a third crossing, leaving only 22 00:01:50,850 --> 00:01:55,850 one, Bab al-Hawa in the Northwest. Today's agreement extends the status quo for six months 23 00:01:56,580 --> 00:02:01,580 with a six-month renewal that a senior administration official called virtually automatic. The U.N. 24 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,220 praised the deal. And U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the unanimous 25 00:02:06,220 --> 00:02:08,460 vote saved lives. LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: It's 26 00:02:08,460 --> 00:02:13,460 a moment for millions of Syrians who will not have to worry about starving to death 27 00:02:14,849 --> 00:02:19,849 in the coming weeks. It's important that the United States and Russia were able to come 28 00:02:21,349 --> 00:02:26,349 together on a humanitarian initiative that serves the interests of the Syrian people. 29 00:02:27,540 --> 00:02:31,861 NICK SCHIFRIN: But humanitarian aid groups say authorizing a single aid crossing is not 30 00:02:31,861 --> 00:02:36,409 enough to meet the vast need, and they say Russia's blocking another proposal that would 31 00:02:36,409 --> 00:02:41,409 have reopened a second crossing shows disregard for Syrian lives. Today, Human Rights Watch 32 00:02:42,469 --> 00:02:47,090 said Russia has successfully blackmailed the international community. Amnesty International 33 00:02:47,090 --> 00:02:51,730 accused Russia of playing political games with the lives and welfare of millions of 34 00:02:51,730 --> 00:02:56,730 people. Idlib is the final stronghold of the Syrian opposition. Humanitarian workers in 35 00:02:57,050 --> 00:03:02,050 Syria accuse Russia and the Syrian government of using humanitarian need for political gain. 36 00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:05,250 SALEM AL ZOUBI, Humanitarian Worker (through translator): As aid workers, we demand the 37 00:03:05,250 --> 00:03:10,129 international community separate human rights work from politics, and to avoid attaching 38 00:03:10,129 --> 00:03:15,120 policy gains to the distribution of humanitarian aid. NICK SCHIFRIN: But Russia and the Syrian 39 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:20,120 government want the aid to pass through government-controlled areas. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently 40 00:03:20,879 --> 00:03:24,579 blamed Syria's humanitarian crisis on the U.S. SERGEI LAVROV, Russian Foreign Minister 41 00:03:24,579 --> 00:03:27,829 (through translator): If we're all worried about the humanitarian problems of the Syrian 42 00:03:27,829 --> 00:03:32,590 people, we need to look at the full range of reasons, starting with sanctions, the illegal 43 00:03:32,590 --> 00:03:37,489 seizure of Syrian assets in foreign banks, at the request of Washington, a total robbery. 44 00:03:37,489 --> 00:03:42,489 NICK SCHIFRIN: Eighty-five percent of Idlib's four million people depend on the Bab al-Hawa 45 00:03:42,719 --> 00:03:46,809 crossing. And now it's also COVID. This week, the World Health Organization said the U.N. 46 00:03:46,809 --> 00:03:51,809 is counting on the crossing to deliver more than 50,000 vaccines. Last weekend, aid organizations 47 00:03:52,830 --> 00:03:57,400 demonstrated at the crossing and accused the Russians of killing them through bombing and 48 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,700 starvation. AISHA, Humanitarian Worker (through translator): This decision would subject people 49 00:04:00,700 --> 00:04:05,700 to another form of killing, like the bombardment we experience every day from Russia and the 50 00:04:06,359 --> 00:04:11,359 regime. NICK SCHIFRIN: Despite today's agreement, that bombardment is relentless. Last Saturday, 51 00:04:13,909 --> 00:04:18,909 Syrian government artillery and Russian airstrikes destroyed this home and an office of the Syrian 52 00:04:18,949 --> 00:04:23,949 humanitarian rescue group the White Helmets. The airstrikes killed at least eight civilians. 53 00:04:24,090 --> 00:04:29,090 Most of them were children. Just a mile from the border crossing, Syrians' families fate 54 00:04:29,620 --> 00:04:34,620 still rests on a vote from the same country that bombs them. For the "PBS NewsHour, " I'm 55 00:04:36,310 --> 00:04:37,069 Nick Schifrin.