A new round of diplomatic meetings on the Syrian crisis. Today a meeting of the Friends of Syria group is being held in Amman, with the foreign ministers of 11 countries taking part: Italy, with Emma Bonino, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
The international community “must do its utmost”
In Amman, the “Friends” will discuss the outlook for a new conference in Geneva to find a political solution to the conflict. A conflict which, according to the United Nations, has caused at least 8000 victims so far. The Syrian opposition will be meeting in Istanbul tomorrow to decide, among other things, whether and how to take part in Geneva 2. The diplomatic solution remains the option for which the international community “must do its utmost”, as Minister Bonino reiterated recently, given “Russia’s more open stance”.
Involving the main regional actors
Syria was also the focus of a telephone conversation on Monday 20 May between Prime Minister Enrico Letta and the American President Barack Obama. The two agreed on the need to foster a peaceful outcome of the crisis through an initiative by the international community that can involve the main regional actors.
