Speech of H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar in occasion of the ministerial meeting on Syria.

 

Rome, June 28, 2021

Honorable fellow Ministers,

His Excellency, the United Nations Ambassador and Special Envoy to Syria,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I extend my gratitude to the friendly Italian Republic for hosting this important meeting on the Syrian crisis that we are holding today in Rome, after having concluded our ministerial meeting of the International Alliance Against Terrorism this morning, in which the State of Qatar highlighted the importance of the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

This meeting is added as another precious piece in the mosaic of regional and international meetings held to find political solutions to the ongoing crises in the region and in the world. The participation of the State of Qatar is based on its full conviction to repudiate violence as a means of resolving crises and to emphasize the need to use diplomatic tools, first of all diplomatic mediation, to resolve crises. In this context, the State of Qatar has managed to mediate to reach a peace agreement between the United States of America and the Afghan Taliban Movement. The State of Qatar is regarded as a reliable partner that plays the role of honest mediator between the various conflicting parties in the region.

As for Syria, the State of Qatar affirms its commitment to preserve the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the Syrian Republic. The State of Qatar is also convinced that there is no military solution to the crisis in Syria and that the only solution is political and that we must all support the political process led by the United Nations and support the Syrian parties to reach a political agreement in accordance with the relevant Resolutions of the Security Council, in particular Resolution 2254 and Geneva 12.

The State of Qatar also stresses the importance of preserving the human rights of civilians and the need to facilitate and increase humanitarian aid for all Syrians.

The State of Qatar also affirms its support for the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General and his Special Envoy, Mr. Geir Otto Pedersen, in support of the negotiations of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva.

Considering the current situation, the State of Qatar still does not see any acceptable political horizon for the Syrian people, and believes that it is necessary to resolve the conflict through a constructive dialogue involving all the parties involved in compliance with the fundamental principles of International Law and the Charter of the United Nations.

We are fully confident that important results will emerge from this meeting that will help identify a political solution to the Syrian crisis in a way that responds to the aspirations of the fraternal Syrian people to live in peace and security within a new political approach based on collective participation in the making of important political and social decisions for the benefit of the whole country.

Thank you,



Photo source: https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/mondo/news_qatar/2021/06/28/ministro-esteri-qatar-lunica-soluzione-in-siria-e-politica_dafd20de-199c-4190-a4a0-df487e1c42ef.html