As part of the efforts for a political solution to the Syrian crisis, Foreign Ministers of some member countries of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People convened in Amman on May 22, 2013.

Besides Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Foreign Ministers of the USA, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Italy, Germany and France and the representatives of the Syrian National Coalition took part in the Amman meeting which was a follow-up to the Istanbul meeting held on April 20, 2013.

At the meeting, views were exchanged on political process named as “the Geneva II Conference”, support to the Syrian opposition and the situation on the ground.

At the joint statement of the participating countries, it was stated that the participation in the Geneva meeting is supported for the purpose of the full implementation of the outcomes of the first Geneva meeting. It was emphasized that the political process should be reflected positively and tangibly on the daily lives of the Syrian civilian population, including the release of prisoners, the delivery of humanitarian assistance and end the killing of civilians, pointing that the corner stone of a political solution is the formation of a transitional governing body through mutual consent, within a defined and agreed upon timeframe, to assume full executive authority. It was underlined that the attainment of the political solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people means that proponents of the regime with blood on their hands cannot play any role in the future of Syria.

Moreover, the support to the Syrian National Coalition was reiterated and the efforts by the Coalition to expand their base of representation to include all components of Syrian society were welcomed.

The deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Syria, as well as the threat they pose to the stability and security of neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees were expressed and the importance of enabling the UN to conduct a comprehensive investigation regarding the use of chemical weapons was stressed in the joint statement.

Joint Statement of the Participating Countries in the Amman Ministerial Meeting on Syria, 22 May 2013