Thank you, Mr. President.

I also thank Special Envoy Pedersen, OCHA Director Wosornu and Ms. Jarbawi for their statements.

Mr. President,

Last week, we all listened to world leaders as they addressed the most urgent problems affecting international peace and security, global prosperity and human rights.

Sadly, the 12-year-old Syrian conflict, despite its grave political, humanitarian and security repercussions, has not been where it should be on this list of global priorities.

The reality, however, is that the Syrian crisis is not a frozen conflict; and it would be a collective remiss to treat it as such.

Today, active conflict is still ongoing on the ground in Syria.

The population is faced with deep economic deprivation, on top of a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions where 7 out of 10 people depend on international humanitarian assistance for survival. The situation is further exacerbated by the earthquakes in February.

Since the beginning of the conflict, hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Millions have been forced to flee their homes and became refugees or IDPs.

And just as worrisome is that the territorial integrity of the country has come under imminent threat by terrorist organizations, primarily PKK/YPG.

As the conflict remains unresolved, new elements of instability are added to the picture.

Recent developments on a wide spectrum - ranging from ongoing anti-regime protests in the south to armed clashes in the north east and spread of captagon production and trafficking - once again highlight the necessity to accelerate the efforts to find a viable solution to the Syrian conflict.

Mr. President,

A comprehensive settlement of the Syrian conflict requires simultaneous progress in various areas. They include:

- The revitalization of the political process in line with the Security Council Resolution 2254,

- Disrupting the malign and separatist agenda of the terrorist organizations in order to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and unity, and

- Creating conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified return of Syrian refugees.

Without national reconciliation on a new social contract, Syria will continue to be prone to conflicts. Therefore, it is essential that the Syrian opposition be included in all efforts towards a political solution.

The Constitutional Committee, which was created as a result of the efforts of Astana guarantors, is the most effective platform to bring together the Syrian parties.

As we reiterated in the Ministerial Meeting of Astana platform last week in New York, we are committed to engage and work together for the reactivation of the Constitutional Committee in a way that it will start producing tangible results.

We continue to support the efforts of Special Envoy Pedersen to make progress on the political track.

Mr. President,

The continued presence of terrorist organizations in Syria poses a vital threat to this country and its neighbors, primarily Türkiye as well as to the wider region.

In fact, the threat of PKK terrorism to Syria’s territorial integrity has never been more alarming than it is today.

The recent clashes between the Arab tribes and PKK/YPG have shown once again that activities of this terrorist organization and the external support it continues to receive is a major source of instability in Syria.

The oppressive and discriminatory practices and human rights violations of this terrorist organization are a matter of public knowledge now and has also been extensively reported by the UN.

We urge all sides to adopt a holistic long-term approach and disengage from these separatist entities which do not have any place in the future of Syria.

Mr. President,

For almost a decade, the UN cross-border humanitarian aid mechanism has played an indispensable role in delivering urgent humanitarian assistance to millions of Syrians in need.

The mechanism authorized by the Security Council was unique in terms of the level of predictability, transparency and effectiveness.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that the UN cross-border assistance continues to function in line with its longstanding modus operandi.

All sides will benefit from maintaining the reporting and monitoring elements of the mechanism which are critical for the neutrality and oversight of the operation.

We are pleased that aid deliveries through Bab al-Hawa crossing have finally resumed after a weeks-long halt.

All parties must fulfill their responsibilities for the uninterrupted flow of cross border aid as long as it is needed, including through scaled up donor funding.

Türkiye on its part will continue to coordinate and closely cooperate with the UN and its partners towards this objective.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that Türkiye is entitled to take appropriate measures against direct and imminent threat posed to its national security by terrorist organizations operating in Syria.

As such, we will continue to exercise our inherent right of self-defense as outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

I thank you.