Germany Willing to Send $116Mln Euros to UNHCR to Help Syrian Refugees - FM

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Germany is ready to allocate 116 million euros ($135 million ) to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.

"Germany is willing to provide UNHCR with a further 116 million euros, that is half of the amount currently needed to help Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon," Maas said.

Yet, other countries also need to step up their efforts to help displaced persons from Syria, he added.

The foreign minister said the lack of funding for the UNHCR is shameful while the main goal in Syria should be to alleviate people's suffering.

The civil war in Syria has been raging for over seven years, with the government forces fighting against numerous terrorist groups and opposition factions. The country has recently begun restoring its cities, economy and infrastructure that were destroyed during the war. The United Nations estimates that the conflict has left over 5.6 million refugees and 6.1 million internally displaced people as of March 2018.