Minister for Foreign Affairs Carmelo Abela said that the international community needs to move from talk to action to attain a sustainable, peaceful solution for the Syrian conflict.

He was delivering a Statement on behalf of Malta at the Second Brussels Conference on 'Supporting the Future of Syria and the region', which was co-hosted by the European Union and the United Nations on the 24th and 25th of April 2018.

The conference - which gathered more than 85 delegations from the international community - focused on humanitarian support and bolstering the UN-led political peace process in Geneva. 

"A peaceful solution for Syria is long-overdue. The international community continues to struggle with the tragedy in Syria when already for six years we have had in hand a roadmap for peace," Minister Abela remarked. "A sustainable solution of the Syrian conflict can only be achieved through a genuine, inclusive political process."

Calling for the prevention of further escalation of violence, he added that a significant step forward would be the implementation of a credible ceasefire throughout Syria. The three guarantors of the Astana process, namely Russia, Iran, and Turkey, must uphold their significant and influential role in reducing tensions and confrontations, he said.

The greatest victims of the Syrian conflict are, undoubtedly, the Syrian people, Minister Abela pointed out. £Hundreds of thousands of people are living in desperate conditions, exposed to continuing violence. Since March 2011, at least 400,000 people are estimated to have perished, 6.6 million have been internally displaced, and 5.6 million have fled. More than 13 million are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, including almost half a million trapped in besieged areas."

In this light, Malta is pledging the sum of €200,000 over 2018 and 2019 as its contribution towards the 2018 Syria Humanitarian Response Plan.