LONDON, Svetlana Alexandrova — Russia is "part of the solution" to the continuing civil war in Syria and its humanitarian aftermath, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila told Sputnik.
A Syrian refugee couple carry their belongings as refugees and migrants arrive aboard the passenger ferry Nissos Rodos at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, January 13, 2016
© REUTERS / Alkis Konstantinidis
"It is our common problem and Russia is a part of the solution. I really hope that Russia, the United States and the EU countries along with the neighboring to Syria states will find a solution," Sipila said on the sidelines of the 2016 Supporting Syria and the Region conference.
4 February 2016, 15:39 GMT
On Thursday, the 2016 Supporting Syria and the Region conference took place in the British capital with the aim of increasing funding for those affected by the Syrian crisis within the country and support for neighboring states as they bear the brunt of the burden of hosting refugees.
The UN refugee agency estimates that about 4.6 million of Syrians have fled the country, mostly to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and crisis-torn Iraq, while some 13.5 million have been displaced and affected by the crisis within Syria itself.
