UN chief ready for prompt conference on Syria
Baku, June 19 (AZERTAC). UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is ready to convene the international conference on Syria, proposed by Russia and United States, as soon as possible. This is stated in the statement of the press release of the UN, issued in connection with the communiqué on Syria, made by the leaders of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
Ban Ki-moon welcomed the understanding reached on Syria and "is ready to convene the Geneva conference on Syria as soon as possible to help the Syrian parties to reach a comprehensive agreement based on the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012."
As reported earlier, the G8 leaders called for a political solution to the Syrian conflict and also called for a prompt international conference on Syria. The countries of the G8 called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to fight the international terrorist network "Al-Qaeda" and its related groups. The G8 participants also agree to support the future Syrian government, which represents the interests of all the citizens in the country, said the British Prime Minister, David Cameron on Tuesday.
“The UN Secretary-General welcomes the commitment to bring the Syrian sides to the negotiating table. He is ready to convene a conference on Syria in Geneva as soon as possible to help the Syrian parties reach a comprehensive agreement on the basis of the Geneva communique of 30 June 2012″, it is said in a statement released by the Secretary General’s spokesman Martin Nesirky.
According to him, Ban Ki-moon also applauded the G8’s allocation of an extra 1.5 billion for humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria. Nesirky stressed that these funds “are critical to saving the lives of Syrians.”
Ban also noted the call contained in the G8 communiqué for parties to the conflict to allow UN inspectors to the country to investigate alleged use of chemical weapons.
The United Nations refugee chief today urged greater support for those who have fled the conflict in Syria and for the countries hosting them, as he kicked off a visit to the region in Lebanon, where the pressure on local communities has become “overwhelming.”
“Lebanon is a small country with a big heart,” High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres told reporters in the capital, Beirut. “There is not a village, city or town in Lebanon that is not hosting Syrian refugees,” he added.
Amid worsening violence, the number of Syrians fleeing to Lebanon is projected to reach well over one million by the end of 2013, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in a news release.
Currently, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million people have fled Syria for Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt since the fighting between the Government and forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad began in March 2011. UNHCR estimates that the number could reach almost 3.5 million by the end of this year.
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