Joint Statement on the Syria Special Envoy Meeting

Representatives of the Arab League, Egypt, the European Union, France, Germany, Iraq, Jordan, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States met December 2 at the envoys-level in Brussels to discuss the crisis in Syria.

We reaffirmed our support for the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and to the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as well as for the implementation of all aspects of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, including an immediate nationwide ceasefire, the release of the arbitrarily detained, and the unimpeded and safe delivery of aid.

We welcomed UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen’s briefing and pledged to redouble our support to his continued efforts, including in the Constitutional Committee, to engage all parties and advance progress towards a political resolution to the crisis in accordance with UNSCR 2254. We will also firmly press for accountability for the most serious crimes.

We expressed deep concern regarding the continued suffering of the Syrian people as a result of over 10 years of violence and the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. We emphasized that access to life-saving humanitarian assistance must be provided through all modalities including cross-border and cross-line as well as early recovery projects consistent with UNSCR 2585, across the whole of Syria. We stressed the importance of continuing the UN cross-border mechanism that reaches over three million Syrians each month and to which there is no alternative, as well as the need to maintain support to Syrian refugees and to the generous host countries, until Syrians can voluntarily return home with safety and dignity in line with UNHCR standards.