There is No Military Solution to Crisis in Syria, Says Guterres

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has ruled out any military solution to the crisis in Syria following recent US-led airstrikes against the war-torn country.

“I think we need … to understand that there is no military solution, the solution is political. And the way for a political solution is known – it is the Resolution of the Security Council 2254, with a Communique in Geneva and it is through intra-Syrian talks between government and opposition to be able to overcome the differences that exits,” Guterres said Saturday.

The UN chief admitted, however, that “there is still a long way to go to bring together the members of the Security Council in relation to the Syrian crisis.”

He made the remarks in southern Sweden, where he met with UN Security Council ambassadors for an informal working meeting.

Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Peru’s UN ambassador and current president of the Security Council, said the meeting could help the ambassadors “narrow the difference” in their stances towards Syria.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Karen Pierce promised they would work “their hardest” to find solutions.

“I don’t know that it can be resolved that easily. It’s a very intractable and difficult issue and the war has been running for a very long time. Too long. But I think what we can assure you of is that we will try at our hardest,” said Pierce.

The meeting comes just a week after the United States, France and the United Kingdom carried out a string of missile airstrikes against Syria over a suspected chemical attack that reportedly took place on April 7.

The suspected chemical weapons attack hit the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta in a suburban area near Damascus, reportedly killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 1,000 others.

Washington and its allies blamed Damascus for the suspected assault.

The Syrian government strongly denied the allegation and called on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to send a fact-finding mission for investigations.

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