UN Envoy: Syria Situation Difficult and all Indicators Pointing in Wrong Direction
(AWP) - The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Sunday that the situation in Syria was “very difficult” and that “all indicators are pointing in the wrong direction.”
In statements after a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad, Pedersen voiced hopes that the repercussions of the Gaza war would not spill over to Syria.
He said, “I have appealed all along that we need to see the war in Gaza is not spreading to Syria and that we see de-escalation and containment. I also said that the crisis in Syria when it comes to security in the northwest and in the northeast requires a deeper look and developing a nationwide ceasefire.”
The UN official said the problem with funding humanitarian needs in Syria was that the increasing needs coincided with a decrease in funding, stressing the necessity for progress on the political track to address the ongoing security challenges.
“We all know that in order to address both the security and economic challenges facing the country, we need progress on the political front. I am afraid I have nothing new to report to you about that. You have heard about my proposal regarding the constitutional committee. I have repeated it today to the Foreign Minister. I said as long as there is no agreement between the government and the opposition, we should continue to meet in Geneva and develop the constitutional committee in a manner that could give hope to the Syrian people.”
Pedersen said in a statement released by his office on Friday, on the anniversary of the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, that there was no political solution to the crisis on the horizon after 14 years of conflict.
According to the statement, Pedersen said hope can only be restored to the Syrian people through a political solution to end this long conflict.
He noted that there was an opportunity available to take serious steps between the parties to the conflict that should be seized without any delay.