The so-called 'Friends of Syria' alliance concluded its one-day ministerial-level meeting in the Jordanian capital city of Amman on Wednesday, calling for an immediate withdrawal of pro-regime fighters belonging to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran from Syria.
In addition to the foreign ministers of Qatar, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, the USA and Jordan, Wednesday's meeting was attended by the Prime Minister of Qatar and the leadership of the Syrian National Coalition of the Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. US Secretary of State John Kerry attended the meeting on behalf of the United States.
During the meeting, the participants discussed the latest developments in Syria and re-emphasized their support for finding a political solution to the crisis in the unrest-hit Middle East nation. Also, the Syrian opposition briefed the gathering on the situation inside Syria.
An estimated 70,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since an armed rebellion against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began in Syria in March 2011. The civil war has forced about 1.4 million Syrians to seek refuge in neighboring countries, with 4.25 million more displaced internally.
International efforts at finding a solution to the crisis have been hampered by a deep divide in the UN Security Council, with Russia and China backing the Assad regime and the West opposing it. Nevertheless, the US and Russia agreed earlier this month to convene an international conference to bring representatives of the Syrian government and the Opposition together to find a political solution to the conflict.
In a joint statement issued after Wednesday's meeting, the ministers "called for the immediate withdrawal of Hezbollah, fighters from Iran, and other regime allied foreign fighters from Syrian territory." They stressed that the presence of foreign fighters in Syria represents "a flagrant intervention on Syrian territory and a serious threat to regional stability."
The Ministers also "condemned in the strongest terms the use of heavy weapons including ballistic missiles against the people, and deplored the ethnic cleansing that the regime is pursuing .., and declared that such crimes will not go unpunished."
Reiterating their support to the Syrian National Coalition of the Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the ministers welcomed the efforts by the Coalition to expand their base of representation to include all components of Syrian society, and emphasized the central and leading role of the Coalition in the opposition delegation to the anticipated international conference on Syria.
Furthermore, the ministers emphasized that they will further increase their support for the opposition until a new transition government is in place in Syria, and reaffirmed their earlier stand that President Assad or his close associates cannot play any role in the future of Syria.
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