The US State Department: The Rome meeting will be an opportunity to discuss the best way to resolve the war in Syria

The US State Department announced that the ministerial meeting on Syria, which will be held in the Italian capital, Rome, next Sunday, will be an opportunity to discuss the “best way forward to resolve the crisis” in Syria.

This came in a briefing with the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Joey Hood, on the expected participation of the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, in the meeting on Syria.

Hood said that “the meeting will include the foreign ministers of the “mini-group” and the “big seven”, in addition to Turkey and Qatar, and the United Nations special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen.

“The meeting will be an opportunity for the Secretary of State to hear directly from allies and key nations, as we continue to discuss the best way forward to resolve this crisis,” Hood added.

And he added that Blinken “will make clear our support for an immediate nationwide ceasefire to ensure safe delivery of aid and to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people,” stressing that the United States is committed “to working with allies, partners, and the United Nations to ensure that a lasting political solution remains within reach.”

During the meeting, the US Secretary will also stress the importance of addressing humanitarian needs across the country, including through the provision and expansion of the United Nations cross-border mechanism.

Blinken will speak about Washington’s commitment to “the political process led by the Syrian people, as envisaged in UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and to hold the Assad regime accountable for the countless atrocities it has committed against its people.”
He called on the international community to “renew its common resolve to ensure the protection, dignity and human rights of the Syrian people,” adding: “There can be no sustainable end to the conflict without progress in this area.”

Source: agencies