UN-Arab League envoy discusses Syrian crisis with Saudi King

The Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, today discussed the situation in Syria with the King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, during a meeting in the city of Jeddah.

Both men agreed that the crisis was deteriorating with each passing, day, with untold suffering for the Syrian people, according to a statement issued by Mr. Brahimi’s spokesperson.

More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in Syria since the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began some 19 months ago. A further 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, according to UN estimates.

“They agreed on the dire need to stop the bloodshed and provide humanitarian aid to the more than 2.5 million Syrians inside the country, who were affected by the fighting, and the over 348,000 refugees registered in neighbouring countries,” the spokesperson said.

He added, “Mr. Brahimi reviewed the consultations he has conducted so far with both the Syrian Government and the opposition, and stressed his belief that this deplorable situation would not be resolved through military means, but rather through a political process that would meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.”

On Thursday, Mr. Brahimi met with the Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister, Prince Abdelaziz Bin Abdallah, with whom he reviewed the Syrian crisis.