Middle East Monitor – Qatar, Turkey and Russia yesterday agreed to coordinate the delivery of aid to the Syrian people.
In a press conference in Doha, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he had discussed with his Turkish and Russian counterparts, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sergey Lavrov providing support for humanitarian initiatives to deliver aid to all Syrian lands, adding that ” there is an urgent need to alleviate the deteriorating living conditions Syrians are going through due to the crisis.”
“We agreed to support the negotiations of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and the safe and voluntary return of refugees,” noting that “the solution in Syria must be political, not military.”
He added that the officials also ” discussed the situation in the Gulf region after Al-Ula declaration, as well as the situation in Libya and the negotiations in Afghanistan,” in reference to the agreement in Saudi which brought to an end the more than three-year boycott of Doha by its Gulf neighbours.
The Turkish minister stressed on the need to pressure the Syrian regime to change the status quo, while Russia’s Lavrov confirmed his participation in international efforts to secure the voluntary and safe return of refugees to Syria, stating that “the joint statement affirms keenness to combat terrorism and confront plans that threaten Syria’s territorial integrity.”
