Foreign Minister Gabriel on the situation in Syria 

“No matter how much we wish there were peace after the long years of violence and conflict, the Syria crisis is not yet over. The ongoing fighting continues to affect many people with unrelenting severity, while the humanitarian situation remains dramatic. For this reason, the German Government is providing a further 120 million euros for humanitarian assistance in Syria and its neighbouring countries. 

Over 13 million people – two thirds of the original population of Syria – need help to survive. Every day, we see images of starving children and almost indescribable destruction in areas that remain under siege by the regime such as Ghouta in eastern Damascus. 

Syria’s neighbouring countries, which provide so many desperate people with refuge and protection, continue to need our support. They deserve our great respect for everything they have done to help overcome the enormous need. Lasting peace cannot be achieved by military means. Syria will only find stability through an inclusive political settlement. We thus call on Assad’s supporters, particularly Russia and Iran, to do their utmost to ensure that the regime finally meets the opposition around one table in Geneva, begins substantive negotiations and no longer blocks the path to a sustainable solution to the conflict.”