On July 2, Syria’s security services detected three vehicles packed with explosives as they attempted to enter Damascus. Two of them were neutralised but the third managed to reach the centre of the city, where it was detonated by a suicide bomber. As a result, 18 people were killed and dozens of civilians received wounds of varying degrees of severity.

We condemn this bloody attack committed against the backdrop of enhanced efforts to reach a political and diplomatic settlement of the armed conflict in Syria. The fifth international high-level meeting on Syria is scheduled for July 4-5 in Astana and another round of intra-Syrian talks is due to take place in Geneva on July 10.

We view this latest attack by extremists as a desperate attempt to prevent the consolidation of the progress toward launching a political process in Syria. We are urging all international partners to approach the threat of terrorism and radicalism in the Middle East with utmost seriousness and to fully commit to fighting this universal evil through coordinated collective efforts in line with international law and the UN Charter.