U.N. renews Syria cross-border aid operation but halves crossings, time

The U.N. Security Council on Friday renewed a six-year-long cross-border operation delivering aid to millions of Syrian civilians but the number of crossings and length of authorization were halved to avoid a Russian veto.

The 15-member Security Council allowed cross-border aid deliveries to continue from two places in Turkey but dropped crossing points from Iraq and Jordan. It also only renewed the operation for six months instead of a year.

Russia and China abstained and the watering down of the resolution triggered angry abstentions from the United States and Britain. The remaining 11 council members voted in favor of the resolution.