Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of the Small Group on Syria

The Foreign Ministers of Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America welcome the launch of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva on October 30, 2019.

We greatly appreciate the work of the UN Secretary General and UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen in launching this effort. This is a long-awaited positive step that requires serious engagement and commitment in order to succeed. It can complement implementation of other dimensions of Security Council Resolution 2254, including the meaningful involvement of all Syrians, especially women, in the political process. We support efforts to create a safe and neutral environment that enables Syria to hold free and fair elections, under UN supervision.

We recall our statement in New York on September 26 and continue to call for an immediate and genuine nationwide ceasefire. There can be no military solution to the Syria crisis, only a political settlement on the basis on UNSC resolution 2254.