In a major move to ramp up efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, Federica Mogherini, European Union foreign policy chief, will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday and hold talks with top Saudi officials including Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir.
Mogherini is currently visiting Tehran as part of the EU’s policy to engage more intensively with countries in the region to resolve the Syrian situation.
“Mogherini will travel to Riyadh for senior level talks in line with the EU’s bids to reach out to key actors in the region on the Syrian crisis,” said Nabila Massrali, an EU spokesperson, while giving details of the visit. Nabila told Arab News that EU countries are keen to engage more actively to find solution to the crisis, which has wide implications in the Middle East and the world at large.
“The EU and its member states have already made approximately $8 billion available to Syria and the Syrian refugees since the beginning of the crisis,” she said. In reply to a question about the meetings in Riyadh, Nabila said: “The EU foreign policy chief’s agenda includes meetings and consultations with Saudi officials, which are being finalized as of now.”
In statement released by the EU External Action group, it was revealed that the talks with regional interlocutors have already begun and that more are being planned in the wake of these visits in an effort to defuse the situation in Syria.
“High Representative Mogherini will continue to constantly liaise with the UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in pursuing this outreach,” said the statement.
The EU is a full member and active participant in the International Syria Support Group (ISSG). It fully supports the UN-led process, notably the efforts of the UN special envoy for Syria.
The statement further said that the Syrian crisis has become the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, adding that the EU is the leading donor in the international response to the crisis.
“The EU support goes both to Syrians in their country and to refugees and their host communities in neighboring Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq,” the statement added.
The EU, which works closely with the Gulf states, welcomed the agreement announced by the US and Russia (as co-chairs of the ISSG) on Sept. 10, reinstating the cessation of hostilities in Syria.
Meanwhile many are lamenting the fact that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and UN special envoy for Syria have estimated the death toll from the Syria conflict to be more than 300,000 and 400,000, respectively. In fact, the UN envoy has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

Source: Arab News