Good to see you again.

 (Inaudible) Syria, how concerned are you?

Mr. Pedersen: Listen, what happened, of course, on the coast is not only extremely alarming, it's disturbing, you know, unacceptable. Then, we are also, as you know, seeing foreign interference, we are seeing Israeli bombardments, they occupied new land, which is also contributing to the instability. And they're also saying that they don't want the Syrian caretaker authorities to go into the south.

Then, of course, we have the situation in the northeast. Now, there is a contact, there is an agreement in principle to deal with that between the authorities in the northeast and the caretaker authorities. That is positive and very important.

So, what we need to see is that the investigation that is now ongoing on the coast, that we will hear a proper result from that. That the continued dialogue between the caretaker authorities in Damascus and the northeast, that that continues. And that it is supported by Turkiye and the United States. And then we need to see a stop in Israeli attacks.

I think if all of this happens, and then we have a transitional process that is really inclusive, I think it's possible to avoid it. But as I said in my briefing, Syria stands at the crossroads. It could go bad, but that should be in no one's interest. And no one can really have an interest in that. So, what we need to make sure is that we support what Syria is now trying to do. And that we mobilize real international support behind that. Both political and economic.

Thank you so much. You have mentioned also in your speech, Mr. Pedersen, that you have shared with the transitional authority the best international practices, to guide in the constitution formation, the government formation. What are your single most thing, what are your biggest worries over this matter? And how receptive do you think or do you feel that they are being to international practices?

Listen, we have a good dialogue with the caretaker authority on these issues. And of course, now it is a constitutional declaration that will be for an interim period. But at the same time, as you know, they also want to start to work on a new constitution. So, there will be a constitutional committee that will be appointed. Extremely important that that committee is representative of all Syrians. You know, all communities are part of it, and that the new social contract that will then be developed will learn from the process that we have now. And what I call best international practices. And obviously, we will not be surprised to hear, we are here to help and to assist in that process.

Yes, Mr. Pedersen, you mentioned the foreign fighter issue in your statement. We saw multiple member states, they actually also mentioned that. According to your communication to the current caretaker government, what is their response to this issue?

I think the caretaker authority obviously noticed that there was a unanimous statement from the Security Council last week, which also addressed this issue. So, this is obviously something I will continue to discuss with the caretaker authorities. And hopefully with the formation now of a new transitional government that we are expecting to take place soon, it will be possible to move that forward in a proper manner. But this is not only linked to this. This is also linked to what I would call the issue of, you know, the future of the Syrian army and the importance of how the DDR and security sector reform being discussed in a proper manner, as I also mentioned in my briefing.

But basically, the caretaker government, they agree that the foreign fighters, they will be, let's say, phased out in the future.

No, I think you have to ask them about that. I didn't say that.

Good to see you.