Telegraph
The Syrian government has said there is "no need" for the United Nations to deliver emergency aid to besieged parts of the country, asserting that "no one" is starving there.
Britain, the United States and France have called for food parcels to be dropped from the air to tens of thousands of Syrians eking out an existence in areas cut off from supplies.
In the Damascus suburb of Daraya, some 4,000 people have been without food aid since 2012.
Footage from across the Greater Damascus region has shown men, women and children on the verge of starvation.
On Wednesday, a 12 year old girl died of malnutrition, bringing the number of starvation-related deaths in her area to more than 70.
But on Thursday Bouthaina Shabaan, a senior adviser to President Bashar al-Assad told the Telegraph there was "no need" for the United Nations to intervene and claimed reports of humanitarian crises were false.
When pressed to explain her view Ms Shabaan, who was speaking by video-link at a press conference in Washington said: "Daraya is the food basket of Damascus; there is nobody starving there."
After five years of war and almost four under siege, Daraya resembles a ghost town.
Its remaining residents have tried to feed their families by growing spinach on small patches of land. But during a visit in April, UN inspectors found the soil destroyed and contaminated by regime barrel bombs.
Turning to the issue of UN assistance, Ms Shabaan said that the Syrian people were not interested in receiving the “macaroni” and "tin fruits".
In reality, many of the town’s children have never seen such items. Mr Assad’s regime exercises tight control over the goods that aid convoys are allowed to bring into besieged areas. Activists said aid trucks that reached Daraya on Wednesday were half empty and contained no food.
In a wide ranging press conference Ms Shabaan was asked about the Syrian regime's use of barrel bombs, its alleged oil deals with Isil, and its releasing of known jihadists from its jails in 2011. As the questions rolled on, she became visibly distressed. "I don't want to give up on the idea of the free press but you are forcing me to do so," she said.
Ms Shaaban was placed under sanctions in August 2011 by the US treasury, for her role as a political and media adviser to President Assad.
Asked about her video-link appearance at the National Press Club in Washington a state department official told Politico:
"For years now she has served as a propaganda mouthpiece for the Assad regime — trying in vain to mask the suppression of the Syrian people and the regime's brutality. The world has not been fooled by her lies."
According to Siege Watch, a monitoring project, more than a million Syrians are living under blockade in 52 areas across the country.
On Friday the UN will meet to decide whether a June 1 deadline to allow aid into besieged areas has been met.
Around 95 per cent of the cut-off areas are encircled by the Syrian regime, with Isil and al-Nusra also preventing aid reaching some of their territory.
Britain is pressing the UN Secretary General to call on Mr Assad to allow planes to fly through Syrian air space and carry out the air drop of aid.
“The requirement was that by June 1 there was to be full land access to every single area in Syria that is currently besieged,” said Matthew Rycroft, British ambassador to the UN.
“So I think that we need to press on with what the International Syria Support Group said, which was that in that scenario there will need to be airdrops.”
ome have expressed concern that the UN will be too accepting of Mr Assad’s offer of allowing limited aid into some areas – a move by the Syrian regime which Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, described as “cynical.”
“The ISSG agreed last month that if humanitarian aid was still being denied to any area by June 1, the UN should launch a programme for emergency deliveries by air,” said Mr Hammond.
“On the day of that deadline, the Assad regime has cynically allowed limited amounts of aid into Daraya and Moadamiyeh but it has failed to deliver the widespread humanitarian access called for by the international community.”
Even as the aid trucks snaked towards Daraya and Moadamiyeh, news broke that another child - 12 year old Ola Murad - had died from malnutrition the nearby town of Madaya.
“Every day there is a delay, more people die,” said a Security Council diplomat.
The deadline coincided with France taking over the monthly-rotating control of the Security Council, which it is hoped will provide fresh momentum to allow aid in.
Pressure is also increasing on Russia and Iran to use their influence to get Mr Assad’s approval for air drops. Syria observers said Mr Assad’s acquiescence over Daraya and Moadamiyeh could be a sign that Russia, in particular, is already leaning on friends in Damascus to accept the aid.
It is thought that, once Mr Assad grants approval, the World Food Programme can begin delivering supplies within days.
If Mr. Assad refuses to allow air drops, the UN could try other methods, although it was not clear what they could be. Land delivery of aid is considered the most effective means of providing relief, and air drops are seen as a “Plan B.” At present, there is no clear Plan C.
“There are products which we could propose but at this stage what we are asking for is a formal assessment from the UN, and then for them to begin the preparations for the airdrops,” said Mr. Rycroft.