Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, met with the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Syria, Geir Pedersen, on the sidelines of the high-level meetings of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that during the meeting, Geir Pedersen’s efforts and endeavors to find a solution to the Syrian crisis were discussed since he took office in October 2018, where Minister Fuad Hussein stressed Iraq’s position calling for the necessity of finding a final solution to the Syrian crisis in accordance with the relevant international resolutions, noting the importance of Resolving the issue of Al-Hol camp and the participation of countries in returning their citizens due to the imminent threat the camp poses to the security of Iraq and the region, stressing the importance of supporting and financing countries hosting Syrian refugees on their lands and the participation of the international community in bearing the burdens of providing the basic needs of this sensitive segment, as Iraq hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees. Syrian citizens are treated like an Iraqi citizen on its territory.

The Minister also stressed that Iraq is fully aware of the reality of the difficult humanitarian and economic situation in Syria, and that the Iraqi government supports any initiative on its part to address the collapse of the humanitarian situation. It also calls on all Syrian parties to dialogue and find common understandings to avoid the consequences of the crisis in Syria.

For his part, Pedersen provided a briefing regarding his recent visit to Damascus and his observations about the deteriorating economic and living conditions of the Syrian people and the unprecedented rise in the level of inflation and fuel scarcity.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency