European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is exacerbating the plight of Syrians in poverty and urged donors to help Syria ravaged by more than a decade of civil war.
Giving the opening speech of the donor conference in Brussels, Josep Borrell said that 60 percent of the Syrian population “is in food insecurity and they do not know where the next meal will come from”.
“Russia’s war will increase food and energy prices, and the situation in Syria will worsen,” Borrell said.
Noting that the 27-member EU will provide an additional 1 billion Euros of aid to Syria this year, and thus the total amount of aid to Syria will increase to 1.5 billion Euros, Borrell said that the EU will also make an aid of 1 billion 560 million Euros next year. He said he was planning.
“Our strong political commitment to Syria must be backed by our financial commitments at the same level,” said Borrell, vowing that the EU will continue to impose sanctions on the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Borrell stated that normalization of relations is out of the question until Syrian refugees are “safe to return to their hometowns”.
The war in Ukraine, one of the world’s largest wheat growers, at a time when food prices were soaring around the world, made the situation worse. The effects of the war in Ukraine aggravate the plight of millions of Syrians, who had to leave their homes due to 11 years of conflict in Syria. Most of the Syrians who have left their homelands depend on foreign aid to survive.
Millions of people became refugees
The war in Ukraine also created a new group of refugees. European countries and the United States rolled up their sleeves to help the 5 and a half million Ukrainians who fled to neighboring countries and more than 7 million Ukrainians who were displaced within the country.
Half of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million had to be displaced due to armed conflict.
Aid organizations hope to refocus attention on Syria at Tuesday’s donor conference, hosted by the EU. The funds collected will also be allocated to aid 5 million 700 thousand Syrian refugees living in neighboring countries, primarily Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
Norway, which is not a member of the EU, announced on Monday that it will provide $ 156 million to help Syrians in Syria and neighboring countries.
The EU, the United States and other countries pledged last year to set aside $6 billion 400 million for aid to neighboring countries hosting Syrians and refugees. However, this amount was below the $10 billion the UN had hoped to collect.
Imogen Sudbery of the charity International Rescue Committee urged the EU to do more, adding that “even though donors promise to donate back the amounts they gave in previous years, this will not be enough to fill the growing and worrying funding gap.”
Reaction from Syria to the Campaign
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the donation campaign held in Brussels, noting that neither the Syrian government nor its ally Russia would take part in the campaign. The ministry noted that the donor conference was organized by countries that imposed sanctions on the “Syrian people” and hindered reconstruction.
“The countries that organize or participate in this conference support the occupation of a part of Syrian territory and are plundering the resources of the Syrian people,” the statement said. The word “occupation” was used to refer to the thousands of American soldiers stationed in the oil-rich eastern parts of Syria.
Borrell said that Russia was not invited to the conference because of the Ukraine war and said, “We invite partners who are really interested in contributing to peace in the world.” The UN, on the other hand, decided not to co-host this year’s donor conference, due to the EU’s refusal to invite Russia.