Syria

I had a meeting with my counterparts from Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the Turkish Under-Secretary of State to discuss the next stages of the process initiated in Vienna to resolve the Syria crisis.

We welcomed the results of the Riyadh conference, which made it possible for the first time to rally Syria’s political opposition, civilian and armed, around a common platform, a milestone vis-à-vis the inter-Syrian negotiations provided for under the Vienna Process. Everyone also indicated their willingness to contribute to the work being done by the working group on terrorism, of which Jordan has been put in charge. This discussion, in which the United Nations Security Council’s 1267 Committee has a major role to play, must support the advances made by the political process. Finally, we reaffirmed the need to link the objective of a ceasefire with the prospect of a credible political transition in Syria, in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Communiqué./.