Malta has pledged €200,000 over two years in humanitarian aid for Syrians, as Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela called on the international community to move from talk to action.
The financial contribution mirrors a similar one pledged in 2016 towards the UN Syria Humanitarian Response Plan.
“A peaceful solution is long-overdue. The international community continues to struggle with the tragedy in Syria when for the last six years we have had in hand a roadmap for peace,” Mr Abela said at the second Brussels conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the region, co-hosted by the EU and the UN this week.
“A sustainable solution of the Syrian conflict can only be achieved through a genuine, inclusive political process.”
Mr Abela said that the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and the 2012 Geneva Communiqué already outlined what the international community should do to attain a sustainable, peaceful solution for the Syrian conflict. All the international community needed to do now is to move from talk to action.
The conference brought together more than 85 delegations from the international community and focused on humanitarian support and the bolstering of the UN-led political peace process in Geneva.
Calling for the prevention of further escalation of violence, Mr Abela added that a significant step forward would be the implementation of a credible ceasefire throughout Syria.
The three guarantors of the Astana process, namely Russia, Iran, and Turkey, must uphold their significant and influential role in reducing tensions and confrontations, he added.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are living in desperate conditions, exposed to continued violence. Since March 2011, at least 400,000 people are estimated to have been killed, 6.6 million have been internally displaced, and 5.6 million have fled. More than 13 million are in need of humanitarian aid, including almost half a million trapped in besieged areas.
In this light, Mr Abela said, Malta pledged €200,000 over 2018 and 2019 as its contribution towards the 2018 Syria Humanitarian Response Plan.
A spokeswoman for the ministry told this newspaper that Malta has contributed financially towards Syria on other occasions.
In 2015, Malta pledged €20,000 to the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (Madad Trust Fund). The following year, at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference in London, Malta pledged €200,000 over 2016 and 2017.