Thank you, Chair.
Good morning, sir, and welcome. I want to change the topic of conversation to something that people sometimes don't look at when they're delivering aid. You used the example of Syria. I just want to highlight one point there, because it shows how there is a fracture in the international community.
At the UN Security Council in December 2018, China and Russia decided to abstain from extending aid to Syria, and 13 other countries voted in favour, with a resolution that was adopted by Sweden and Kuwait. The Russian ambassador at that time said that this agreement was “divorced from reality”. The Chinese ambassador said, and I quote, that international aid operations should “scrupulously observe the principles of neutrality, impartiality and non-politicization”. The British UN adviser said that aid was now being used as “a weapon of war”. We don't see that only in Syria; we see that in other places, too.
How difficult is it for you to conduct your operations when there are other geopolitical realities that you don't control and don't sometimes see? Has that been a barrier for you, going forward? You mentioned Syria, so I wanted to highlight Syria.