Secretary of State John Kerry said the only way to relieve the refugee pressure on Greece and Turkey and Syria’s other neighbors is for the international community to force a ceasefire in the war-torn country, and lead a political transition to remove the conditions that led to the civil war’s outbreak nearly five years ago.
“The solution is to end the war, and the best way to deal with this crisis, as we have said again and again, is to make every step possible, as fast as possible, to bring about a ceasefire, get into the political discussion, and let Syrians decide the future of Syria through that discussion,” Kerry said in a joint appearance with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias in Athens.
Kotzias said that Greece, which has been deluged with refugees fleeing the conflict, is a “beacon of stability” in an unstable region and willing to play mediator between the warring factions.
Greece lays in a “triangle of instability … formed by Ukraine, Libya and Syria,” Kotzias said. “We know the area and I think that we can contribute to any form of negotiations and consultations, and, if need be, even mediation or arbitration between the two warring parties,” he said.
Tensions between Turkey and Greece, two countries with a turbulent history, have escalated as many Greeks partially blame Ankara for the waves of refugees pouring onto Greece’s island shores. Kotzias sought to play down the issue while prodding Turkey to do more.
“I think that there should be a fair burden-sharing to keep up the burden resulting from the refugee crisis,” he said.
Kerry said the neighboring countries that have traditionally represented the demarcation between East and West should cooperate fully.
“Greece and Turkey obviously have long-established diplomatic channels for addressing Aegean issues,” Kerry said in response to a question from a Greek reporter. “And I’m not going to try to change those channels here today. I simply encourage Greece and Turkey as NATO allies… to work together to maintain good neighborly relations and to encourage peace and security in the region by cooperating together.”
“And I’m confident that they will and that that issue can be resolved,” Kerry added.
Kerry also announced that the U.S. was kicking in another $24 million to the United Nations fund to help Greece and other European countries closest to the crisis deal with the refugee overflow.
Kerry said the U.S. is the biggest financial contributor of humanitarian relief, and has chipped in $4.5 billion since the conflict started. But money and aiding refugees is not the long-term solution to Syria’s problem, Kerry said.
This is a “global challenge and it’s why we have put $4.5 billion into the refugee camps in order to try to help cope with the immediate problem,” Kerry said. “But we don’t want to just be writing a check and putting people into another refugee camp. That’s not a solution. The solution is to end the war.”
