LONDON – Foreign ministers from the G8 group of rich countries failed to patch up deep divisions over Syria on Thursday according to a report from Reuters. 

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking after talks with his counterparts, admitted the world had done too little to try to resolve Syria’s two-year-old conflict, in which an estimated 70,000 people have been killed.

“The United Nations Security Council has not fulfilled its responsibilities because it is divided. That division continues. Have we solved that division at this meeting? No. We didn’t expect to do so,” Hague told reporters.

“The world has failed so far in its responsibilities and continues to do so.”

Little substance came out of their private meetings with members of Syria’s opposition on the sidelines of the gathering according to reports. 

With diplomatic efforts deadlocked, Syria’s protracted conflict remains the biggest headache for global powers, and Hague described it as the world’s top destination for jihadists.

“Moscow is seriously concerned with a bigger interest in Syria on the part of al Qaeda, the observed plans by international terrorists to turn this country into their main springboard in the Middle East,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement on Thursday.

Leaders of the Syrian National Coalition were present on the sidelines of the London meeting to ask for more humanitarian help but no promises were made, according to officials.

In their statement, the ministers “called for greater humanitarian assistance and for improved and safe access to the Syrian people by humanitarian agencies in co-ordination with all parties to the conflict.”

 

Western and Middle Eastern nations trying to help the Syrian opposition in its war against President Bashar al-Assad will meet in Turkey on April 20, a U.S. official said on Wednesday as G8 foreign ministers gathered in London for a summit.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will attend the meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria “core group” in Istanbul, said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Leaders of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) were present on the sidelines of the G8 meeting and were expected to hold talks with those foreign ministers willing to meet them.

A Syrian Army officer briefs his men to prepare for an offensive in Aleppo’s Liramoun area, April 11, 2013. REUTERS

During a lunch meeting earlier in the day, Syrian opposition members said they needed more humanitarian assistance and Kerry talked about the importance of the opposition becoming better organized, a senior U.S. official told reporters.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in a statement issued after the talks, said Britain was committed to finding a political solution to the crisis.

“We discussed what further assistance the UK could provide to save lives in Syria, and how we could work together to ensure this support was channeled most effectively,” he said.

The United States, which on February 28 said it will for the first time give non-lethal aid to Syrian rebel fighters and more than double its aid to Syria’s civilian opposition, has so far chosen not to provide arms to the rebels and did not make any commitments at the lunch, the U.S. official said.

“He didn’t promise anything,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters traveling with Kerry.

During a more than one-hour meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, another U.S. official said there was no sign of any change in Moscow’s stance on Syria.

Michael Stephens, a Doha-based analyst for security think tank RUSI, said the presence of SNC leaders at the G8 meeting was designed to help the coalition shore up its international legitimacy after the Arab League recognized it as the sole representative for Syria.

“It shows there’s a graduated process, where they went from laughing stock to being approved by the Arab League to being listened to by G8 leaders,” he said. “There’s a groundswell of support that appears to be building up behind them.”

France and Britain are expected once again to press the case for amending or lifting an arms embargo on Syria to support the out-gunned rebels in the conflict. 

It was also announced that United States President Barack Obama will host leaders from its allies Jordan, Turkey, Qatar and UAE, and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the coming week in Washington, amid ongoing turmoil in Syria, the White House has said. 

Announcements for these series of meetings came from the White House as the Secretary of State, John Kerry, was preparing to leave for yet another trip to the region – his third in less than a month. 

Obama would kickoff his series of meetings at the White House with the Ban Ki-moon on April 12. 

This would be followed by his meeting with the UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on April 16, the Qatar Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on April 23, King Abdullah II of Jordan on April 26 and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 16. 

Earlier in the day, Carney said that Obama has invited leaders of four Middle East countries to the White House in next few weeks. 

“As you know, President Obama has very close relationships with these leaders, and he has a deep personal interest in the region as you saw during his recent trip. He will use these opportunities to discuss the complex developments in the broader Middle East, so not just Syria, but including Syria,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations said earlier in the week, on Tuesday, that it will halt food aid to 400,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon next month unless it receives urgent new funding.

The cash shortage is part of a wider financial shortfall that the organization says is threatening its efforts to help nearly 1.3 million Syrian refugees and almost 4 million more people displaced inside Syria by the two-year conflict.

“The speed with which the crisis is deteriorating is much faster than the ability of the international community to finance the Syrian humanitarian needs,” Panos Moumtzis, the UN refugee agency’s regional coordinator for Syrian refugees said.

In Lebanon, where authorities and aid groups are struggling to cope with a growing wave of refugees already equivalent to 10 percent of the local population, the U.N. World Food Program warned that it might be forced to cut back operations in May.

“I am extremely concerned that without continued funding we will see increased tensions and further displacement in an already tense environment,” said WFP country operations head Etienne Labande. 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Wednesday cases of scabies and lice have increased among Syrian refugees and urged citizens to take precautionary measures.

“The Health Ministry has recorded an increase in the number of scabies and lice cases, as a result of overpopulation and bad personal hygiene in locations where Syrian refugees reside,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry affirmed that these diseases were “not dangerous” and could be treated easily with medication that is available without any cost for citizens.

“The ministry asks citizens to take precautionary measures by maintaining personal hygiene, not share clothing and underwear or personal equipment. (Citizens should) wash clothes, covers and towels with soap or boil them, and it is best if they are ironed or exposed to the sun,” the statement noted.

-Reuters, TAAN , MEO, The Daily Star