De Mistura calls for intensifying efforts to combat terrorism

In a press conference on Friday evening, de Mistura considered that the significant change in the tone at the Security Council with regard to finding a solution to the crisis in Syria is due to the previous efforts at the meetings of Astana, Amman and Hamburg and the determination of all the active parties and their keenness on setting mechanisms that would push the preparatory work forwards to achieve the task, hoping that this would be fruitful.

"We have just concluded the seventh session of the intra-Syrian dialogue in Geneva and we have achieved an incremental progress and we established a technical consultative mechanism to get deeper into issues …We need to go technically into details on many subjects,” de Mistura said.

He indicated that the Syrian Arab Republic delegation proposed its viewpoint on some important issues with regard to the constitutional aspects, and it expressed readiness to discuss the four baskets in the next round and to set ideas for that purpose.

De Mistura pointed out that the file of combating terrorism was discussed at the highest levels, and fighting terrorism will be only against those who have been classified as "terrorists” by the Security Council.

Answering a question by SANA’s delegate on exerting pressure on the countries which are involved in supporting terrorism in Syria to stop funding it, de Mistura said "We are in touch with every single country related to Syria at the moment and we are constantly in touch with them and they are aware of those important resolutions of the Security Council on financing, arming and supporting terrorism.”