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| Staffan De Mistura, UN envoy to Syria, speaks to the media during his visit in Damascus, Syria, Sep. 11, 2014. De Mistura arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus on Tuesday for his first visit to the war-torn country. (Xinhua/Bassem Tellawi) |
DAMASCUS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The fight against terrorism in Syria has become a world priority, the UN's envoy to Syria said on Thursday, stressing that "the war on terror" should go hand in hand with pushing forward a political solution in Syria.
The international community is mobilizing around strategies to confront the militant Islamist insurgents who have violently seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq, Staffan de Mistura said at a press briefing in Syria's capital Damascus on Thursday.
He added that any international action taken against militant groups in the region would be in accordance with the recent UN Security Council resolution 2170, which sanctions cutting resources from armed groups in the region, mainly the Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
"The terrorist groups need to be confronted," de Mistura said. "That is clear and the international community is now getting closer and closer to (mobilizing around the issue)."
He stressed that fighting terrorism and accelerating the political process will change security situation for the better as well as improve daily lives of families in Syria.
De Mistura, who flew into Syria on Tuesday on a three-day visit, met with a number of Syrian officials, the latest of which was President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday.
The UN envoy said his meetings were "useful" but declined to disclose specifics, saying only that they were still at a preliminary stage.
De Mistura, a former deputy foreign minister of Italy, was appointed on July 10 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to fill a vacancy left by Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May out of frustration after failing to help Syria find a political solution to its long-running conflict.
Brahimi himself had replaced Kofi Annan, who was the first international envoy to Syria who also resigned for the very same reason.
Following his Syria visit, de Mistura will visit other countries in the region.
According to the UN, the conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011 after a series of opposition protests against Bashar al- Assad, has led to more than 190,000 deaths. Three million people have fled to neighboring countries in search of refuge, while another 6.5 million displaced inside their war-ridden homeland.
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