CAIRO: Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian minister of foreign affairs, met the UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Cairo on Monday.
The ministry’s spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zeid, tweeted that “continual coordination between Egypt and the UN for advancing the political solution in Syria and alleviating the suffering of the Syrian brotherly people.”
As for Pedersen’s efforts to broker peace in Syria, Shoukry assured him of Egypt’s unwavering support, and the two men agreed to keep in touch and consult with one another. Within the context of Egypt’s desire to resolve the Syrian crisis as quickly as possible in accordance with international resolutions, the minister emphasized the importance of reviving the political process. After devastating earthquakes struck Syria and neighboring Turkey in February, he briefed the UN envoy on the aid and support provided to Syria.
Monday morning, a spokesperson for the Arab League, Jamal Rushdi, said that the League’s secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, had met with Pedersen as part of ongoing consultations between the League and the UN to discuss the latest developments in Syria.
Rushdi has said that it is premature to discuss Syria’s possible readmission to the Arab League at this time. Aboul Gheit and Pedersen, he said, both stressed the need for ongoing efforts to break the political impasse in the Syrian crisis.
Shoukry visited Syria in February, following the earthquakes, to convey a message of solidarity from Cairo. Since the start of the civil war in 2011, this was the first time an Egyptian foreign minister had traveled to Syria.
“The purpose of my visit to Damascus is primarily humanitarian,” Shoukry said.
