On 9 February 2023, Prime Minister Robert Golob attended the special meeting of the European Council in Brussels. The leaders’ agenda included the situation in Ukraine and possibilities for further EU support, the economy and migration. They also discussed the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the devastating earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the main guest of the first part of the meeting.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has released half a million euros in emergency humanitarian aid to help mitigate the consequences of the earthquake that struck the Republic of Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic on 6 February 2023. Of this amount, EUR 100,000 was contributed through the Slovenian Caritas, the strategic partner of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in emergency humanitarian response, for the purchase of blankets, clothes and food packages.

At the correspondence meeting, the government agreed to provide humanitarian aid to the people of the Republic of Turkey and the Syrian Arab Republic in the wake the earthquake.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan took part in the 6th Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” organised by the EU. He announced a new humanitarian donation by Slovenia in the amount of EUR 150,000 for the civilian population of Syria. The contribution will be provided to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for projects ensuring access to water and sanitation.

Ten years ago, millions of Syrians took to the streets of Dara’a, Aleppo and Damascus, calling for democracy and respect of their fundamental rights and basic freedoms. The brutal response by the regime triggered over the span of a decade one of the most serious criminal enterprises and humanitarian crises since the Second World War resulting in more than 400 000 deaths and in countless violations of human rights.

Minister Dr Miro Cerar attended the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg focusing on the situation in Syria, Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Afghanistan and Ukraine. During a working lunch, heads of Member States’ diplomacies were joined by their Ukrainian counterpart Vadym Prystaiko.

Slovenia is deeply concerned about the Turkish military operation in north-east Syria. The operation could threaten the stability of the wider region and the progress achieved in the fight against Da'esh and other terrorist organizations, as well as undermines the political process to find a solution to the Syrian crisis. It also threatens the lives of the population and further exacerbates the humanitarian situation in the country, which could provoke further displacements.

Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar are participating in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. Minister of Health Aleš Šabeder, who was taking part in a high-level meeting on universal health coverage, joined them for the opening of the General Debate.