Prospects for a solution to the Syrian conflict and the destruction of Damascus’ chemical weapons arsenal were the central focus of Minister for Foreign Affairs Emma Bonino’s meeting at the UN with UN/Arab League Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, ahead of a possible acceleration within the round of meetings being held in the margins of the 68th General Assembly.
In particular, expectations are running high for Brahimi’s working lunch with the representatives of the 5 Security Council countries, and the ministerial meeting of the Friends of Syria countries, Bonino said at the end of her meeting of over half an hour with the UN Envoy who, she underscored, “is really determined” in his mission.
Possible opening to political talks
Progress on the chemical weapons dossier could create a window of opportunity leading to political negotiations regarding the entire conflict, which has caused the death of over 100,000 people and created millions of refugees over the past 2 and a half years, i.e. the Geneva 2 conference.
Millions of refugees’ access to aid
The effort will be to set a date. This window of opportunity could include the humanitarian aspect, one of the points on which Minister Bonino insists, who sees the possibility of opening discussions on millions of refugees’ access to aid. Among her many meetings and bilateral encounters, the minister will participate an informal ministerial meeting today on the humanitarian situation in Syria and neighbouring countries, to be chaired by European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Kristalina Georgieva and Jordanian foreign minister Nasser Judeh.
Syria: Letta, full agreement with Ban Ki Moon on UN role“In my meeting with Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, along with Minister Bonino, we reconfirmed our complete accord on the fact that Syria needs a political solution, a Geneva 2 opened by the UN”, said Prime Minister Enrico Letta at the end of his meeting with Ban Ki Moon. “We are convinced of the necessity for the UN to implement the rules banning chemical weapons. Italy confirms its commitment and support for the United Nations also with regard to Lebanon, Somalia and Libya”.
