French Foreign Minister: “We need to create an environment that contributes to achieving peace in Syria

The Paris Conference on Syria opened today with the participation Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shibani, and the foreign ministers of a number of Arab and Western countries.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said: “Our goal in the conference is to help the Syrians. We want a free, sovereign, unified and stable Syria, and for this reason we need to establish an environment that contributes to achieving peace, reunification and reintegration of Syria into the region, and we are ready to support the Syrian transitional administration to achieve its goals.”

“Challenges are great and work must be done quickly and in a coordinated was to allow the flow of humanitarian aid that the Syrians still need, and to facilitate financial and economic flows to rebuild the country and encourage investment,” Noel Barrot also said.

He pointed out that for this reason Paris is working with its European counterparts to quickly lift a number of economic sanctions, but guarantees are needed for lifting them.

The French Minister explained that economic sanctions contributed to the fall of the Assad regime, but they should no longer be an obstacle to Syria’s development, noting that the European Union has allocated more than 35 billion euros since 2011 for Syria and its neighboring countries, and is ready to participate in reconstruction efforts, assist the Syrian people and support efforts to return Syrian refugees to their country.

Noel Barrot stressed that the national dialogue launched by Syria is important and it meets the needs of the Syrians, and all weapons must be silenced throughout the country, including the north and northeast, otherwise there is a risk of the return of ISIS. He affirmed that Syria cannot be a haven for terrorist organizations that directly threaten the security of Syria’s neighbors and European countries.

He clarified that “the national dialogue that Syria announced, which we hope will start soon, is a very important indicator, provided that it responds to the aspirations of all Syrians regardless of religion, language, society or gender. In addition, a committee was announced to prepare for the national dialogue conference, and that the government that will be formed on the first of next March will reflect the diversity of the Syrian scene.”

“We will not impose any unrealistic demands, but we want to keep pace with the Syrians in the best way, and for that we need a clear schedule for the transitional phase, with the United Nations follows up on this phase, as successful transition is the one that allows rapid restoration of security for all Syrians and all of Syria’s partners.”

Hamda Mustafa