The refusal of the European Union and the UN to invite representatives of the Syrian authorities to the international donor conference, which is taking place for the fifth year in a row, raises questions about the effectiveness of the event, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, who represents the Russian Federation, said on Tuesday, speaking at the ministerial part of the conference.
"Today's conference, according to the organizers' intention, is aimed at discussing the tasks of providing humanitarian assistance and promoting the process of a political settlement in accordance with the UN resolution. However, as before, all these important issues for Syrians are proposed to be considered without their direct participation, including, first of all, the failure to invite the government of Syria - a UN member country. Such an approach cannot but cause regret and questions about the effectiveness of the event," he said and stressed that "at this stage, Syria and the Syrians especially need the collective support of the international community without politicization and preconditions".
Despite a significant decrease in violence, he said, there remains a high level of terrorist threat in the country. "We are convinced that establishing long-term and lasting peace in Syria and the region is impossible without eliminating terrorist foci and restoring the territorial integrity of the country. This means that the irreconcilable fight against terrorists must continue. We will continue to provide the necessary support to the Syrian authorities in this regard," the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
Over 75 delegations from 50 countries are participating in the fifth donor conference for Syria and countries hosting Syrian refugees, which is taking place online this year on March 29-30 due to the pandemic coronavirus.
International Syria aid donor conferences are held annually by the European Union. In 2020, such a conference raised about €7 billion, money that usually goes to support Syrian territories outside Damascus government control as well as neighboring states, including Turkey, that host Syrian refugees. At the same time, the EU refuses to respond to Russian initiatives to launch an international process of repatriation of refugees to Syria, on most of whose territory the war has already ended. Brussels notes that the time for the return of refugees, in its opinion, "has not yet come" because "the necessary conditions for it do not exist".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: picture alliance / Luiz Rampelot / TASS
Based on materials from TASS