Four western nations vow to help Syria’s reconstruction until political process is underway

According to a joint statement released by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and therefore, a political settlement must be made to end the conflict.

“We will not consider providing or supporting any reconstruction assistance until a credible, substantive, and genuine political process is irreversibly underway,” the four countries said in their joint statement that was posted by Asharq Al-Aswat.

“Nine years ago today, tens of thousands of Syrians peacefully took to the streets calling for respect for human rights and the end of government corruption,” the statement said.

“Instead of heeding the Syrian people’s legitimate demands, the Assad regime responded with a ruthless campaign of arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and violence,” they continued.

“As the Syrian conflict enters its 10th year, the Assad regime’s brutal pursuit of a military victory has displaced over 11 million people – nearly half of Syria’s pre-war population – and killed more than 500,000 Syrians,” the joint statement added.