Damascus-Sana
Dr. Faisal Al-Miqdad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, discussed today with Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and his accompanying delegation, to enhance cooperation and coordination between the Syrian government and the International Red Cross.
Minister Al-Miqdad expressed the Syrian government's appreciation for the role the International Red Cross plays in the humanitarian field in Syria and praised its efforts to provide humanitarian aid in various sectors such as health, education and others.
Minister Al-Miqdad added that he expects international organizations operating in Syria to abide by the humanitarian responsibilities incumbent upon them, as well as to the rules of international humanitarian law, in order to ensure the efficiency, quality and reach of humanitarian work in order to face the difficulties, which would reduce as much as possible the suffering of the Syrian people resulting from the aggressive attack. Systematized it by Western countries.
Dr. Al-Miqdad renewed Syria's condemnation of the unilateral coercive sanctions taken by the United States of America and its European allies against Syria and other countries, as well as those countries' continued support for armed terrorist groups, which exposed the falsehood of the slogans of (humanity) raised by those countries.
Minister Al-Miqdad also referred to the Syrian government's keenness to facilitate the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross team in Syria to enable it to carry out its basic tasks and praised the existing fruitful cooperation between the Syrian government, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Red Cross.
Al-Miqdad also reaffirmed the most important tasks of the International Red Cross in the occupied Syrian Arab Golan and supported its citizens who suffer injustice and the inhuman practices of the Israeli occupation.
In turn, Maurer explained the role of the International Red Cross and the humanitarian tasks entrusted to it, expressed appreciation for the bilateral relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and praised the facilities provided by Syria for the work of the committee's team.
Maurer pointed out that the International Red Cross seeks to expand its humanitarian operations and activities in Syria at various levels, especially in the areas of health, water, electricity and education, through cooperation with the Syrian government and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Organization, so that humanitarian aid reaches the largest possible segment of civilians affected by the crisis in Syrian.
Maurer also praised the activities carried out by the Syrian National Committee for International Humanitarian Law and the activities it established in cooperation with the International Red Cross to publicize its work and international humanitarian law.
On the Syrian side, the meeting was attended by Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ambassador Milad Attia, Director of the Organizations Department, Wurif al-Halabi, Director of the Media Department, Dr. Abdullah Hallaq, Director of the Private Office Department, Dr. Ammar Awad from the Organizations Department, and Yamen Badr from the Minister’s Office.
From the committee’s side, Fabrizio Carboni, Regional Director for Middle and Near East Operations, to the Commission, Philip Spury, Head of the International Red Cross Mission in Syria, and Lakmini Seneviratne, Legal Affairs Coordinator for the Country Office.