Fate of Syrian people remains priority, says EU

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - The EU's foreign policy chief made a statement on Wednesday reassuring that Syrians remain a "priority for the European Union."

In a statement issued on the 11th anniversary of the beginning of the "tragic and bloody conflict in Syria," Josep Borrell said the EU was "fully committed" to finding "a durable and comprehensible political solution in Syria."

Underlining that Syrians were in serious need of humanitarian assistance, he said that Syrian refugees "constitute the largest displacement crisis in the world with 5.7 registered refugees," while another 6.9 million internally displaced people live in the war-torn country.

He stressed that the EU would not normalize relations with the Syrian Bashar al-Assad regime, nor contribute to the country's reconstruction or lift sanctions until an agreement is reached for a political solution to the conflict in line with the UN's demands.

At the same time, he said the EU "cannot and will not look away as the future of Syria and its people are held hostage to the conflict."

On May 10, the EU will co-host with the UN the sixth Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria to raise funds for the Syrian people and the region.

Since 2011, the EU and its member states mobilized over €25 billion ($27.5 billion) in support of the Syrian people.

Syria has been in civil war since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

According to the official numbers of the UN, over 350,000 people lost their lives to the conflict but human rights groups estimate the death toll to be between 500,000-600,000.

Over 14 million had to flee their homes, becoming refugees or internally displaced, according to the EU.

Turkiye is the largest host country for Syrian refugees and provides international protection to nearly 4 million people who fled the neighboring country.​​​​​​​