25 April 2016•Update: 28 April 2016
HANNOVER
Geneva talks must continue for a political solution in Syria, a summit held in Hannover agreed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday.
Merkel’s comments came following a mini-summit also attended by U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi.
Merkel said all the leaders were worried about the fragile ceasefire in Syria and recent serious violations, but underlined that all believe that a political solution should be found by continuing the political talks in Geneva.
The chancellor said the leaders also discussed the migration crisis in Europe.
“We have agreed that above all we should address the root causes of migration; we must implement the EU-Turkey agreement through the NATO deployment in the Aegean.
“The US has shown its readiness to contribute to fighting illegal migration,” she said.
Merkel said the US has also expressed willingness to take responsibility, if necessary, for migration routes from Libya to Italy.
Obama visited Germany to open the Hannover Industrial Fair, where the U.S. is a partner country this year. Following his bilateral talks with Merkel on Sunday, he attended the mini-summit on Monday, hosted by Merkel at the historical Herrenhausen Palace in Hannover.
Merkel told reporters after the summit that the leaders discussed major foreign policy and security challenges, including developments in Libya, Syria’s civil war, and the fight against Daesh, and agreed to continue working closely to address these challenges.
