Arab, Western Demands to Implement Resolution 2254, Continue Cross-Border Aid to Syria

A girl stands amidst the rubble of damaged buildings in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria, February 28, 2017. (Reuters)
A girl stands amidst the rubble of damaged buildings in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria, February 28, 2017. (Reuters)
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Arab, Western Demands to Implement Resolution 2254, Continue Cross-Border Aid to Syria

A girl stands amidst the rubble of damaged buildings in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria, February 28, 2017. (Reuters)
A girl stands amidst the rubble of damaged buildings in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria, February 28, 2017. (Reuters)

The representatives of 11 Arab and Western States, as well as the Arab League and the European Union, called Thursday on all Syrian parties to resume the meetings of the Constitutional Committee and to implement UN Security Council resolution 2254.

Representatives of Saudi Arabia, the Arab League, Egypt, the European Union, France, Germany, Iraq, Jordan, Norway, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States met August 30-31 at the envoy level  in Geneva to discuss the crisis in Syria.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis consistent with UN Security Council resolution 2254, including continued support for implementing and sustaining an immediate nation-wide ceasefire, the Constitutional Committee, free and fair elections, the end of arbitrary detention, and the release of all those unjustly held,” the representatives said in a joint statement.

They also reiterated the need to create secure conditions for the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons, consistent with UNHCR standards.

The representatives stressed the need to support the provision of sufficient and sustainable aid to the displaced and their host countries and communities until such conditions are in place.

They additionally noted with concern the continuing threat posed by ISIS and reiterated their commitment to the mission of the Global Coalition Against ISIS, and to the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

“We called on all parties, in particular the government-nominated bloc, to resume meetings of the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned Constitutional Committee under UN auspices in Geneva and to advance an inclusive political solution that will protect the territorial integrity, unity, and sovereignty of Syria and the rights and dignity of all Syrians,” they stressed in their joint statement.

The representatives reiterated that there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis, reaffirming their continued support of UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and his tireless efforts to advance a UN-facilitated political process consistent with UNSC resolution 2254.

They also expressed their deep concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Syria and the ongoing suffering of the Syrian people.

“We emphasized the importance of continuing to provide life-saving and early recovery humanitarian assistance across Syria through all modalities, including expansion and extension of the UNSC resolution 2642 cross-border aid mechanism, for which there is no alternative that can match its scope and scale,” the representatives said.



No Armed Groups Allowed in Lebanon, President Tells Hezbollah’s Ally Iran

In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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No Armed Groups Allowed in Lebanon, President Tells Hezbollah’s Ally Iran

In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

No group in Lebanon is permitted to bear arms or rely on foreign backing, its president told a visiting senior Iranian official on Wednesday after the cabinet approved the goals of a US-backed roadmap to disarm the Iran-aligned Hezbollah group.

During a meeting in Beirut with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's top security body, Joseph Aoun warned against foreign interference in Lebanon's internal affairs, saying the country was open to cooperation with Iran but only within the bounds of national sovereignty and mutual respect.

He also said Lebanese-Iranian relations should be with all the people of Lebanon and not just one religious sect, criticizing recent comments by Iranian officials.

Larijani said Tehran supports Lebanon’s sovereignty and does not interfere in its decision-making.

"Any decision taken by the Lebanese government in consultation with the resistance is respected by us," he said after separate talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal movement is an ally of Hezbollah.

By "resistance", Larijani was alluding to Hezbollah, which was founded in 1982, grew into a "state-within-a-state" force better armed than the Lebanese army and has repeatedly fought Israel over the decades.

"Iran didn't bring any plan to Lebanon, the US did. Those intervening in Lebanese affairs are those dictating plans and deadlines", said Larijani.

He said Lebanon should not "mix its enemies with its friends - your enemy is Israel, your friend is the resistance".

"I recommend to Lebanon to always appreciate the value of resistance."

The US submitted a plan through President Donald Trump's envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, setting out the most detailed steps yet for disarming Hezbollah, which has rejected mounting calls to disarm since its devastating war with Israel last year.

Hezbollah has rejected repeated calls to relinquish its weaponry although it was seriously weakened in the war, with Israel killing most of its leadership in airstrikes and bombings.

It was the climax of a conflict that began in October 2023 when the group opened fire at Israeli positions along Lebanon's southern frontier in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.

Aoun also said recent remarks by some Iranian officials had not been helpful, and reaffirmed that the Lebanese state and its armed forces were solely responsible for protecting all citizens.

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran supported any decision Hezbollah makes, adding that this was not the first attempt to strip the group of its weapons.