A Syrian government response plan, agreed with the UN after six weeks of negotiations, satisfies minimum humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality but falls short of the unhindered access the international humanitarian community was calling for, according to aid workers.

“Comfortable, or not comfortable, we simply have to accept that situation, and probably live with some second-best options,” Claus Sorensen, director-general of the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), told IRIN. “If we are not allowed to make pragmatic solutions, then I think we will basically shut ourselves out of humanitarian assistance in a few difficult situations.”