MOSCOW ‑ The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Russia on Thursday underscored the need for a quick halt to the armed conflict in Syria on the basis of the international law, the UN Security Council resolutions and the Geneva initiative.
In a joint statement issued at the end of the 4th Ministerial Meeting for the strategic dialogue among the GCC states and Russia in Moscow, both sides called for an end to hostile acts, and to differentiate between the moderate opposition forces and the terrorist outfits in this respect. The meeting was co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir, who heads the GCC ministerial council, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The GCC and Russian ministers underlined the need for sending humanitarian assistance to people afflicted by war in all parts of Syria in line with the international humanitarian law, besides resumption of talks between the Syrian parties in Geneva. They pledged full support to the global diplomatic initiatives, under the leadership of the United States and Russia, to end the conflict. The ministers also voiced deep concern over the plight of refugees and those displaced due to the war in Syria. They urged the international community to continue dispatching humanitarian assistance to Syria’s neighboring countries, which host millions of refugees.
Welcoming the decision for a ceasefire in Yemen, the ministers vowed their full commitment to safeguard the unity and sovereignty of Yemen and rejection of any intervention in its internal affairs. They called on the international community to respond to the humanitarian appeal for the Yemeni people afflicted by war.
