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More Than $1 Billion Pledged At Syria Donors Conference

January 15, 2014

Donors have so far pledged more than $1 billion for UN humanitarian efforts in Syria at an international donors conference in Kuwait.

The UN is seeking some $6.5 billion to help Syrians affected by nearly three years of war, the largest-ever funding request for a single crisis.

The UN says some 9.3 million people inside Syria are in need of assistance.

There are also some 2 million Syrian refugees in camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Kuwait pledged $500 million and the United States, represented by Secretary of State John Kerry, promised to give $380 million.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledged $60 million each.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is chairing the conference in Kuwait, which opened on January 15, just one week before peace talks on Syria in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 22.

Iranian Foreign Minister Arrives In Damascus

In related news, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ahead of the Geneva peace talks next week.

Syrian state media quoted Zarif as saying the purpose of his visit was to help ensure that the January 22 conference -- dubbed Geneva-2 -- 'brings about results that are in the interests of the Syrian people.'

Iran is a key ally of the Syrian regime.

Russia would like Iran to take part in the Geneva talks, but the United States has said Tehran can participate only if it agrees to earlier diplomatic agreements that any transitional government in Syria would not include Assad or his close allies.

Meanwhile, the United States has condemned a visit by Zarif to lay a wreath at the Beirut grave of Imad Mugniyah, a former Hizballah leader who Washington says was responsible for 'heinous acts of terrorism.'

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Zarif's decision sends the wrong message and worsens regional tensions.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/syria- donors-conference/25230787.html

Copyright (c) 2014. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.