Recent terror attacks in France, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt has spurred world leaders to find a solution to soon put an end to the Syrian conflict.
Gathered under the banner of International Syria Support Group (ISSG), representatives of the United Nations, the Arab League, the European Union, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States met in Austrian capital Vienna on November 14 to discuss strategies that would accelerate the end of war in Syria.
Before the meeting, the participants observed a moment of silence for the victims of the series of terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, as well as the recent attacks in Beirut, Iraq, Ankara and Egypt.
At the meeting, The ISSG members unanimously condemned in the strongest terms these brutal attacks against innocent civilians and expressed a unanimous sense of urgency to end the suffering of the Syrian people, the physical destruction of Syria, the destabilisation of the region, and the resulting increase in the number of terrorists drawn to the fighting in Syria.
The ISSG acknowledged the close linkage between a ceasefire and a parallel political process pursuant to the 2012 Geneva Communique, and that both initiatives should move ahead expeditiously.
The group agreed to support and work to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Syria to come into effect as soon as the representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition would begin initial steps towards the transition under UN auspices on the basis of the Geneva Communique.
The participants also welcomed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s statement that he had ordered the UN to accelerate planning for supporting the implementation of a nationwide ceasefire. The group agreed that the UN should lead the effort, in consultation with interested parties, to determine the requirements and modalities of a ceasefire.
