Kerry pledges another $380M in aid for Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday announced another $380 million in humanitarian assistance for Syria, bringing the total U.S. contribution to more than $1.7 billion.

Kerry made the announcement at an international donor’s conference ahead of peace talks next week backed by the United States and Russia. The United Nations has launched a humanitarian appeal for $6.5 billion — the largest in history — to provide food, water, medical care and shelter for the victims of the almost three-year civil war.

{mosads}“I will tell you all clearly today we are under no illusion that our job or any of our jobs here are to just write a check,” Kerry said in Kuwait. “None of us can be satisfied with a growing pool of refugees and of refugee needs on an annual basis. And none of us should be satisfied with the idea that we are going to just return here, year after year, responding to this plea, being asked to lay down yet more money to respond to the growing crisis.”

He called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to stop blocking food deliveries and aid workers from reaching devastated areas.

“As we pledge our financial commitments,” he said, “we also pledge our commitment to ending this crisis once and for all through the hard work of diplomacy.”

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