Iran, Switzerland urge political solutions to Syria, Yemen crises
Iran and Switzerland have underlined the need for political solutions to the ongoing crises in Syria and Yemen, urging the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in the two Arab countries.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, and Secretary of State at the Swiss Foreign Ministry Yves Rossier met in the Swiss capital of Bern on Friday to discuss the ongoing developments in the Middle East.
During the meeting, the senior diplomats also called for a serious campaign to fight extremism and terrorism, saying measures adopted to counter the scourges are not adequate.
The foreign-backed conflict in Syria, which flared up in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 240,000 lives so far.
Over 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced, while over four million others have been forced to take refuge in neighboring countries, including Lebanon, according to the UN.
During the meeting between Amir-Abdollahian and Yves Rossier, the need for a halt to the Saudi military campaign against Yemen as well as an end to the blockade on aid to the impoverished Arab country were also emphasized.
Amir-Abdollahian described as significant the proposal presented to the UN by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to put an end to the tension in the Arab country.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in April, the Iranian foreign minister submitted a four-point peace plan on Yemen in an attempt to end the bloodshed in the Arab country. The proposal stresses the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Yemenis as well as dialog among various groups in the country.
Yemen has been the target of a Saudi military campaign since March 26; the strikes were launched without a UN mandate, and have inflicted heavy damage on the country’s infrastructure and displaced over three million people.
Over 4,300 people have also been killed in the Yemeni conflict, the World Health Organization said on August 11. Local Yemeni sources, however, say the fatality is much higher.
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