(Adnkronos) – United Nations refugee chief Filippo Grandi on Tuesday underlined the world body’s support for war-wracked Syria’s interim leadership’s bid “to lead the country towards a more peaceful, prosperous future”.
“Sincere thanks to foreign minister al-Shaibani and to the governors of Deraa, Aleppo and Idlib for receiving me during my visit to Syria,” Grandi wrote on X.
“I reaffirmed that @UN organisations, including UNHCR, will support them as they lead the country towards a more peaceful, prosperous future,” Grandi added.
Grandi visited Syria on 20 June – World Refugee Day – and warned during talks in neighbouring Lebanon’s capital Beirut with top officials on the eve of his visit that Syria represents world’s largest refugee crisis.
The international community must aid Lebanon, UNHCR and Syria to help millions of people who fled the 13-year-conflict to return and rebuild their lives in their war-torn homeland, Grandi said.
“Syria is a country that is on its knees. It needs reconstruction of infrastructure, of public services, of the economy, of its security system,” Grandi stated. He called US president Donald Trump’s lifting of sanctions “a major step in the right direction”.
Grandi issued a “strong appeal from all our partners in Europe, in the Gulf, in the international financial institutions,to help us do the work in Syria.”
