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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
announced on Wednesday that Germany will donate an additional €1
billion ($1.22 billion) in aid to Syria and neighboring countries who
are hosting Syrian refugees. "In Syria alone there are still more
than 13 million people who are dependent on humanitarian aid," Maas
said as he arrived in Brussels for a humanitarian aid drive for Syria. "We must not leave the people of Syria alone," he added. The Foreign Ministry announced that another €300 million could be
tacked on to Germany's pledge once the German government finalizes its
budget this summer. Alongside Germany's concerns over the
"protection of the civilian population," Maas emphasized that Germany
was "strongly committed to the effort" to restart the political process
to resolve the conflict.
During last year's United Nations aid
drive for Syria, Germany was the largest donor and has contributed
around €4.5 billion in aid to Syria since 2012. The UN hopes donors at this year's conference will surpass the $6
billion in emergency humanitarian aid that was pledged last year. The
heads of UN agencies warned on Tuesday that only $2.3 billion have been
received so far. rs/kms (dpa, Reuters)
DW-Deutsche Welle
