Crucial peace conference :: Geneva II
After 3 years of civil war, Brazil qants "constructive dialogue" in Syria and is one of the smallest humanitarian donors
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said today, in an official statement, that after 3 years of civil war and more than 100,000 deaths, it hopes that the government and the opposition in Syria will reach a “comprehensive political agreement that puts a stop to the violence” and will start “a constructive dialogue”. The six-line statement rejects the use of force and presents no concrete proposal.
The statement was published one day after the announcement that the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, would remain in Brazil to prepare for the meeting in Davos, Switzerland, instead of participating in the conference on the war in Syria, known as the Geneva II Peace Talks (to be held in Montreux). The Foreign Ministry will send instead its Secretary-General, Eduardo dos Santos.
This indifferent move by Brazil coincides with the announcement of its commitment to donate just US$300,000 in humanitarian aid to Syrians at the 2nd High-Level International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, held in Kuwait on January 15. The amount is the smallest of all the pledges made by all the countries that were present in Kuwait and that will participate in the conference in Montreux.
“Mexico pledged to donate 10 times more than Brazil at the Kuwait conference. This is very little for a country that wants to be taken seriously on major international matters,” said Camila Asano, coordinator of Foreign Policy at Conectas.
