Donors pledge $6 billion in aid for Syria in Brussels

BRUSSELS

International donors pledged $6 billion in aid for Syria at an EU-UN hosted conference in Brussels, the EU announced on Wednesday.

“Delegations present here today have made a collective pledge of $6 billion for this year alone,” EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides told the delegates following the conference.

"Our conference is sending a powerful message, we are not letting down the people of Syria," Stylianides added.

He said such a collective of money was “impressive”.

The two-day conference on Syria, which began on Tuesday, is co-chaired by the European Union, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United Nations.

The conference, titled “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, hosted over 70 representatives of country and international agencies.

Turkey did not attend the conference for not receiving, what it called, a satisfactory response to its expectations from conference organizers.

The meeting is considered a continuation of the London Conference on Supporting Syria held in February 2016.

*Reporting by Hasan Esen; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay