Kaine Statement On The London 11 Ministerial Meeting

Statement

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern, South and Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement on the London 11 Ministerial meeting:

"I applaud the communique released by the "London 11' Core Group of the Friends of Syria. The communique broadly condemns Assad's actions, including the Syrian regime's decision to hold an illegitimate election on June 3. I was pleased with the strong language in the communique calling for unhindered humanitarian access, including across borders and lines irrespective of the consent of the Syrian regime, and the group's endorsement of an International Criminal Court referral for Assad.

"In a May 2 letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, I called on the United Nations to organize large-scale cross border humanitarian assistance and for action to hold Assad responsible for the brutal crimes his regime has committed against innocent Syrians. Last month, Senator Rubio and I led the unanimous passage in the Senate of the Syrian Humanitarian Resolution of 2014 (S. Res. 384), which among other things calls on the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2139, and asks the Administration to submit to Congress a comprehensive and robust strategy to address the Syrian humanitarian crisis. The "London 11" communique sends a strong message to Assad and his international backers - the status quo is simply intolerable, and I look forward to working with the Administration on the Core Group action plan."

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