WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) — The United States on Saturday pledged nearly $100 million in fresh aid for Syria’s opposition, bringing the total amount of U.S. financial support to the opposition to nearly $500 million since 2012.
Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Gulf island nation of Bahrain, said the economic support will assist “local and provincial councils, civil society activists, emergency first responders, and others to meet the needs of the Syrian people.”
Part of the financial commitment includes $15 million to the Syria Recovery Trust Fund, an aid organization.
“Countering the extremist forces threatening the Middle East requires building institutions legitimate and inclusive enough to unite everyone — Sunni or Shia, conservative or liberal, secularist or Islamist — provided they pursue their goals peacefully,” Blinken said. “That’s why the United States is working for a settlement in Syria that will give people viable choices other than supporting [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad] for fear of terrorists or terrorists for fear of Assad.”
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