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ICRC chief meets Syrian minister over humanitarian aid

06 September 2012 03:58 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) talks with Syrian officials about humanitarian aid for the people affected by the country’s unrest, APA reports quoting Press TV.

On the second day of his visit to Damascus, ICRC President Peter Maurer met with Syrian Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar on Wednesday to discuss ways of providing humanitarian aid to the victims of the months-long violence.

During the meeting, Haidar expressed his country’s support for the ICRC operations in the country, reiterating Syria’s call for the organization to remain independent.

â€œDoors are open and all preparations are made for receiving such organizations, as long as their aim is to distribute aid to all Syrians in need,â€ the Syrian minister stated.

On Tuesday, Maurer met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, where the Syrian leader said he â€œwelcomed the humanitarian operations carried out by the committee on the ground in Syria, as long as it remains impartial and independent.â€

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Damascus says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving force behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed militants are foreign nationals.