The foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, yesterday embarked on a four-day trip to Cyprus and Turkey to raise awareness of the situation in Syria and to see in person the effect of Denmark’s aid to the region.
Lidegaard will also visit two Danish ships – the Esben Snare and ARK Futura, which are charged with removing chemical weapons from Syria – and Syrian refugee camps in southern Turkey.
”Over 150,000 dead, 2.7 million refugees, 6.5 million internally displaced and 9.3 million in need of humanitarian aid,” Lidegaard said in a press release. “These are numbers that convey that there is an ongoing catastrophe going on in Syria.”
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Turkish relations
Lidegaard went on to underline that it was important to him to get over there and see what Denmark is doing and speak to the people who are trying to create a better Syria or who have fled.
“The Danish ships and crew have done an excellent and professional piece of work getting the terrible chemical weapons out of Syria,” Lidegaard said.
"They have left their mark on a tough mission. Now the last batch needs removing and the Syrian government must deliver that as soon as possible.”
The foreign minister will also travel to Turkey to meet the Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu to discuss Danish-Turkish bilateral relations, the Syrian opposition coalition and representatives from the Syrian civil society.
Since the Syrian crisis began, Denmark has donated 680 million kroner in humanitarian aid and about 100 million kroner in support, largely to areas in Syria controlled by the moderate opposition.
