Türkiye to UN Security Council: 'A re-energised focus on Syria is needed'

Türkiye has highlighted the deadlock in Syria while emphasising that other crises should not cause the world to turn away from the situation.

"The rise of other large-scale crises should not diminish our attention to Syria, as economic, security and humanitarian aspects of the crisis continue to deteriorate. The status quo is not sustainable," Ahmet Yildiz, Türkiye's envoy to the UN, told the Security Council on Thursday.

While the possibility for a lasting political solution is difficult, Yildiz said, "A re-energised focus on Syria is needed."

"The ground should be prepared to address the root causes of the crisis. This requires first and foremost a change of attitude on site of the Syrian regime to initiate genuine national reconciliation," he said.

Urging the Council to remain committed to close involvement with the Syrian crisis, Yildiz expressed deep concern about the "significant drop in humanitarian funding, especially at a time when the number of people in need of humanitarian aid has reached a record almost 17 million."

"We call on donors to scale up their contributions," he said.

Combatting terrorism

The Turkish envoy also stressed that "the separatist and disruptive agenda of the terrorist organisation, namely PKK/YPG/SDF, as well as its grave violations, reputation and attacks against the local population, continue unabated in Syria."

Emphasising that the PKK/YPG/SDF "has no place in Syria's future," Yildiz urged all parties to "disengage from this terrorist organisation, whose only objective is to advance its own separatist agenda."

He expressed Türkiye's commitment to "continue to support international efforts to achieving a lasting settlement."