Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal and Defence Minister Hans Hillen have announced the Dutch government will provide support to the UN observer mission to Syria.

In a letter to parliament, the two ministers write that the cabinet has agreed to make a contribution to the mission’s analysis and intelligence capability. A Dutch officer will join the analysis team of UN special envoy Kofi Annan in Geneva.

The cabinet has offered to set up and maintain communications between Geneva and the UN headquarters in Damascus. This would initially require the deployment of nine soldiers. Three Dutch soldiers would eventually be stationed in the Syrian capital and two in Switzerland. The UN is still considering the Dutch offer.

(gsh)

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