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23:45 GMT
WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (KUNA) -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Wednesday to discuss UN progress on forming a constitutional committee.
The leaders agreed that "that all parties needed to move ahead on the political track and that any discussion of reconstruction was premature absent a political solution leading unalterably to both constitutional reform and free and fair elections as described in UN Security Council Resolution 2254," according to a State Department statement.
Pompeo "made clear that while the United States supports the return of refugees to Syria, it must only occur when the environment in Syria is sufficiently safe and secure and with the involvement of relevant UN agencies," the statement added.
They also stressed the need to prevent a humanitarian crisis from emerging in Idlib governorate, north Syria. (end)
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