Syria crisis aggravated by terrorist groups: FM
KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah yesterday spoke of tremendous challenges that resulted from the Syria crisis. He said that the crisis was extended beyond Syria at the hands of terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) that came to pose a real threat to the region and the world at large.
During a meeting with the chairman and members of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled stressed that there is no other way but a political solution to the crisis to preserve what remains of Syria.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled pointed to the deteriorating humanitarian situation resulting from the crisis, with huge numbers of the Syrian internally displaced, or have already fled the country. He said that Kuwait hosted the First, Second and Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, to help the Syrian people. Up to $8 billion was collected through the three events.
A fourth conference will be held in London soon, co-chaired by Kuwait, Britain, Germany and Norway, seeking to get the world involved in seeking a solution to the Syria crisis. In a reply to a question on the recent downing of a Russian jet by Turkey, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said that Russia’s intervention has further complicated the situation in Syria.
For Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, what happened was expected, and further complicated the situation in the region. Yet, he hoped wisdom would be triumphant, urging directing all efforts to assist the Syrians. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled referred to recent talks by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the Syrian issue featured high on the agenda of the talks. They focused mainly on the necessity of a peaceful solution, to avoid a collapse of Syria which will be “devastation for all.”
The Syrian people have been facing five years of destruction but they insist on determining their own future, he said. The Foreign Minister urged more efforts to implement what has been agreed upon during the recent Vienna talks on Syria.