Foreign secretary Philip Hammond and US secretary of state John Kerry urge diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Syria and ease refugee crisis
After meeting the foreign secretary Philip Hammond in London to discuss the conflict in Syria, US secretary of state John Kerry has said the two completely agreed on the need to end the Syrian conflict soon.
Speaking in London after the talks, Kerry focussed on the need for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, and said nations need to come together in order to resolve “this war that has gone on for much too long”. He added:
It is clear the challenges to Europe and everyone else of the migrant population of refugees seeking a better life cannot be properly addressed just by addressing the number of refugees coming into a country or providing more support to them.
It has to be addressed by dealing with the root cause, which is the violence in Syria and the lack of hope or possibility of a future as a consequence of that violence taking place.
The foreign secretary agreed with Kerry, echoing that the conflict in Syria also leads to more migration. Europe is still grappling with how to deal with the huge influx of migrants who are coming from Syria, with problems emerging in the Balkans.
Today Croatia attempted to "force" Hungary to accept refugees, where it was reported last week that tear gas has been used against refugees at the border, which has been widely condemned by other European nations. Hungary has also deployed a razor wire fence along its border with Romania and Serbia earlier this week.
Read more: Syria hits out at British "interference" in its affairs
David Cameron has pledged to take 20,000 refugees into the UK in the next five years, while Germany have said they could take half a million a year for the next few years.
Home secretary Theresa May said last week the first of the additional refugees the UK will take will be arriving soon, taken directly from camps in Syria.
Hammond also said that any possible solution would not involve President Bashar al-Assad in the long term.