Despite ‘Fatigue’, Donors Pledge Another $6.7 Billion for Syria, Neighbors

A general view shows the room in which European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a meeting, Supporting the future of Syria and the region, at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (AP)
A general view shows the room in which European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a meeting, Supporting the future of Syria and the region, at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (AP)
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Despite ‘Fatigue’, Donors Pledge Another $6.7 Billion for Syria, Neighbors

A general view shows the room in which European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a meeting, Supporting the future of Syria and the region, at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (AP)
A general view shows the room in which European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a meeting, Supporting the future of Syria and the region, at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (AP)

An international donor conference raised $6.7 billion for Syria and its neighbors on Tuesday despite what the European Union's foreign policy chief said was "a certain fatigue" with the war there, now its 12th year.

The pledges, which were slightly higher than the United Nations' appeal for $6.1 billion, were made at the conference bringing together 55 countries in Brussels but excluding Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow calls it a "special military operation."

"We are not forgetting the Syrian people and the situation in Syria," the EU's Josep Borrell said. "Certainly Syria and the suffering of its people might not be at the center of the news anymore. There's a certain fatigue after 11 years," he said.

What started as peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule in Syria in 2011 spiraled into a multi-sided conflict sucking in Russia, Iran, Turkey and other countries, killing as many as half a million people.

Borrell said almost all Syrians now live in poverty. According to the United Nations, more than 6.9 million people have fled their homes inside the country, and over 6.5 million remain outside Syria, of whom 5.7 million are refugees in the region, still being hosted by neighbors.

Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, will also benefit from the humanitarian assistance, which is not designed to rebuild Syria.

Borrell also said Russia had not been invited to the conference, which has become an annual event to raise funds.

"Russia has not been invited because we are inviting those partners who have a genuine, real interest to contribute to peace in the world," he said.

"The US and the European Union, along with many other partners, will continue sending a clear message of rejection of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine in all international fora," Borrell told a news conference.

Moscow says the war in Ukraine is a battle against dangerous "Nazi"-inspired nationalists in Ukraine to defend Russia against the West.



Arab Parliament Condemns Statements Made by Israeli Prime Minister

Arab Parliament Condemns Statements Made by Israeli Prime Minister
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Arab Parliament Condemns Statements Made by Israeli Prime Minister

Arab Parliament Condemns Statements Made by Israeli Prime Minister

The Arab Parliament expressed its condemnation and outright rejection of the statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding what is called “greater Israel,” considering these statements a blatant provocation and a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions which stress the invalidity of any measures or policies aimed at annexing Palestinian territories, altering their legal and historical status quo, or infringing on the sovereignty of states and the security and stability of the region.

Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Yamahi reiterated in a statement today that such aggressive remarks about expansion or the seizure of land from sovereign Arab states once again reveal the expansionist and racist nature of the occupation authorities, SPA reported.

Furthermore, these remarks demonstrate their insistence on pursuing their expansionist, settlement, and Judaization project, as well as their complete disregard for international laws and norms on state sovereignty over their territories and for all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent sovereign state on their land in accordance with relevant international laws.

Al Yamahi renewed the Arab Parliament’s call on the international community and the United Nations to shoulder their legal and moral responsibilities, stop such provocative statements and policies, work seriously to end the occupation, stop the genocide, and ensure the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace in line with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.