Emir of Qatar: ‘We will continue to support efforts to hold war criminals in Syria accountable’

Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani affirmed that his country will continue to support efforts to achieve justice and hold the perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria accountable.

“We will continue to provide all aspects of support and assistance to the brotherly Syrian people,” he vowed during a speech at the opening of the 75th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Tuesday.

Qatar News Agency quoted the Qatari monarch affirming: “The Syrian regime is still hindering the process of drafting the new constitution, which was proposed by Russia.”

He continued: “The Syrian authorities are playing along with these efforts in the same way they pretended to cooperate with the international community by faking their participation in the negotiations in order to buy some time, without having a real intention to make any change.”

The emir of Qatar reiterated his country’s firm belief that the only way to end the Syrian crisis: “Is to reach a political solution based on the Geneva Declaration, and through the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254.”

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He pointed out that it is nine years since the outbreak of the armed conflict, during which Syria witnessed unprecedented humanitarian tragedies. The crisis is still far from being resolved due to President of Syria Bashar Al-Assad’s intransigence and the international community’s unwillingness to play its role in maintaining international peace and security while protecting civilians, especially the UN Security Council.

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) has previously discussed with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani the latest developments on the ground and the political situation in Syria, including the humanitarian disaster in northern Syria resulting from the military operations against civilians.