At the invitation of His Highness, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in continuation of the ministerial meetings hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the city of Aqaba on December 14, 2024, the Foreign Ministers and representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Iraq, the Italian Republic, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, the Lebanese Republic, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Spain, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Republic of Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland, the United States of America, His Excellency the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Her Excellency the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policies, His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and His Excellency the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria met today, January 12, 2025, in the city of Riyadh.
During the meetings, the participants discussed steps of supporting the brotherly Syrian people, and to provide them with the necessary help and support at this critical stage of Syria's history, and assist them to rebuild Syria as a unified Arab country, independent and safe for all its citizens, in which there is no place for terrorism, nor a breach of its sovereignty or its territorial integrity from any party.
They also discussed their support for a Syrian political transitional process in which Syrian political and social groups are represented, and the rights of all the Syrian people are protected, with the participation of various components of the Syrian people, and that addressing any challenges or sources of concern for the various parties should be through dialogue and providing support, advice and consultation in a manner that respects Syria's independence and sovereignty, taking into account that the future of Syria is the concern of the Syrians, stressing their support for the choices of the Syrian people and respecting their will.
They expressed concern over Israel's incursion into the buffer zone with Syria, as well as neighboring sites in Jabal al-Shaykh and the governorate of Quneitra. They emphasized the importance of respecting Syria’s unity, sovereignty and its territorial integrity.
His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stated that the meeting comes to coordinate efforts to support Syria and work towards lifting the sanctions imposed on it. He welcomed the decision of the United States of America to issue General License 24 regarding exemptions related to sanctions imposed on Syria, calling on international parties to lift unilateral and international sanctions imposed on Syria, and to urgently provide all forms of humanitarian, economic, and capacity-building support for the Syrian state, which will create the appropriate environment for the return of Syrian refugees. He stressed that the continuation of sanctions imposed on the former Syrian regime will hinder the aspirations of the Syrian people for development, reconstruction, and stability. His Highness expressed the Kingdom’s appreciation for the countries that announced their provision of humanitarian and development aid to the Syrian people.
His Highness welcomed the positive steps taken by the new Syrian administration in preserving state institutions, adopting a dialogue-based approach with the Syrian parties, committing to combating terrorism, and announcing the start of a political process that includes the various components of the Syrian people, in a way that ensures the stability of Syria, preserves its territorial integrity, and prevents Syria from becoming a source of threat to the security and stability of the countries of the region.
His Highness reiterated the Kingdom's condemnation of Israel's incursion into the buffer zone with Syria and the neighboring sites in Jabal al-Shaykh and Quneitra Governorate, expressing the Kingdom's rejection of this incursion as an occupation and aggression that violates the international law and the disengagement agreement concluded between Syria and Israel in 1974, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the occupied Syrian territories.
