Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Syria’s War Has Cost $327 Billion | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Aleppo, June, 2016. (AFP / Karam Al-masri)


London- Moscow is in a hurry to discuss the file of Syria’s reconstruction as western and regional powers link their involvement in the reconstruction process to “finding a genius political solution” to the war-torn country.

According to the National Agenda for the Future of Syria (NAFS) initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and which is run by Syrian and international experts, the cost of the Syrian war has reached $327.5 billion including $227 billion lost on unemployment and $100 billion on ruin.

According to NAFS, the level of destruction reached 30 percent in the residential sector, while it was near 18 percent in the industrial sector, 9 percent in the electricity and water sectors and 7 percent in the agricultural sector.

Those numbers do not involve the level of destruction in the two cities of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister sent a letter to UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura to encourage him on launching “the humanitarian reconstruction” in Syria.

The file of rebuilding Syria was also brought up by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to Oman.

Observers expect that the issue of Syria’s reconstruction will be tackled during the meetings of the UN General Assembly in New York.

On the other hand, several western countries were still linking their contribution in the reconstruction process to achieving “a genius political solution” based on UNSC Resolution 2254.

Gareth Bayley, Britain’s special representative for Syria wrote on his twitter account on Wednesday that the “EU reconstruction aid to Syria will be achieved only when a genuine, comprehensive, and inclusive transition is firmly under way, and not before.”

For its part, Iran seeks to preserve its share in the reconstruction of Syria after signing with Damascus an agreement to repair parts of the country’s power grid.

According to SANA, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday during a visit by the regime’s electricity minister to Tehran, including building a power plant in the coastal province of Latakia with a capacity of 540 megawatts.