Qatar has called on the international community to reconsider the strategy for dealing with the Syrian crisis in order to find a peaceful solution that would end the suffering of the Syrian people.
Speaking at the EU's high-level meeting on Syria on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said political efforts to resolve the crisis are faltering due to the absence of international consensus, narrow political calculations and conflicting international and regional interests.
He said the Syrian crisis, with its current and future dimensions and grave repercussions on international peace and security in the Middle East and the world, "has become a source of distress for us" and reveals the imbalance of the international order in the light of the continuing practices and crimes of the Syrian regime and the grave violations committed daily against its citizens, namely murder, destruction, forced displacement, demographic change and the use of internationally prohibited weapons.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman said the international community, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, must carry out their legal, political and moral responsibilities and reconsider the strategy for dealing with the Syrian crisis so that "we can find a peaceful solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people."
He reiterated Qatar's support for the political process sponsored by the United Nations in order to reach a settlement, and appreciated all international and regional efforts that promote and comply with the resolutions of international legitimacy, in particular the Geneva Communique 1 of 2012 and the Security Council resolution No 2254, the cornerstone for resolving the crisis and give the Syrian people the right to self-determination, while preserving the unity of the Syrian territory and its political independence and sovereignty.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman welcomed the recent Sochi agreement, sponsored by the guarantor states, to stop the bloodshed of hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians in the Syrian province of Idlib, stressing that the effectiveness of any agreement is subject to honouring it and ensuring its actual implementation.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed to Qatar's fulfillment of all previous commitments during the political consultations and donor conferences, the latest of which was the second Brussels Conference this year, stressing that Qatar will spare no effort in continuing to provide support and assistance to the Syrian brothers in co-ordination with its international partners.
Those responsible for committing atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria must be brought to international criminal justice, he said.
Qatar continues to fulfill its obligations with the international community by supporting a neutral and independent international mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes committed in Syria since March 2011, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
