Guterres: Solution to Syrian civil war ‘far, far away’

The UN chief said that a political solution in Syria is of utmost importance, despite being “very far from the end of the tunnel” in achieving that goal.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in an interview with Bloomberg Television, said that a long path remains for a political solution to be reached in Syria’s civil war.

“We are very far from the end of the tunnel,” Guterres contended, stressing that “the UN is committed to maintain a strong effort, a strong push for a political solution.”

Guterres also argued that a political solution is of utmost necessity in light of the conflict’s instability, which he said is “threatening the lives of all of us, everywhere.”

“We need to be able to convince all those that have an influence in the situation in Syria that this conflict must end, and it is in the vital interests of all the actors to end the conflict because they are all losing and they are putting the lives of their citizens everywhere in the world, in danger,” he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had reported as many as 300,000 fatalities in Syria’s civil war as of September 2016.

“We need the Syrian people to be able to decide on their destiny, freely without interference from anybody, but for this political solution to be possible, we need to make sure that all those that have an influence on the parties in the conflict understand that this now became a war in which nobody is winning, everybody is losing,” he added.

Guterres’ made his remarks shortly after conveying his congratulations through a cable to President Bashar al-Assad on the occasion of Syria’s Independence Day on April 17.

“We count on your country’s involvement and effective contribution to help build a stronger United Nations organization and move our efforts forward to ensure peace, development and human rights for all people,” Guterres stated.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News