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FOREIGN RELATIONS

Aleppo crisis: Spanish PM Rajoy calls on UN to find humanitarian solution

Spanish PM says end to Syrian conflict “a priority for the international community”

Javier Casqueiro

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday recapped his country’s rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council with a call to end the humanitarian crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo. The Council is meeting on Tuesday for one last session, which Rajoy will preside after Spain was designated to head the body in December – the country's second stint in the presidency in the 2015-2016 period.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.EMMANUEL DUNAND (AFP)

Speaking in New York on Monday, the Spanish PM said that the resolution recently approved by the Council to deploy UN monitors to oversee civilian evacuation is “a step in the right direction” but that more needs to be done.

He said he was moved by the testimony provided on Thursday by the mayor of Aleppo regarding the city’s plight.

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy stressed he would not meet with Donald Trump while in New York

Rajoy said that the Syrian conflict has dragged on for too long, and that finding a solution is “a matter of capital importance and a priority for the international community.”

Looking back at Spain’s presidency, Rajoy said that his country has played “a fundamental role in very relevant issues,” citing a resolution against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and another one aimed at streamlining the mechanisms to fight against terrorism.

He noted that the term will end with a proposal that was negotiated between Spain, France, United States and Russia against human trafficking.

On Tuesday, the Spanish leader will also award the outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon the Collar of the Spanish Order of Civil Merit. Rajoy has pledged to be equally supportive of Ki-Moon’s successor, Antonio Guterres.

The Spanish leader confirmed that he is in New York exclusively for the UN session, and that he will not be getting in touch with US president-elect Donald Trump.

English version by Susana Urra.

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