We commend and support the UN Special Envoy’s efforts to convene an inclusive and credible political process in Geneva to negotiate a political transition in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and the Geneva Communiqué. We underline that intra-Syrian discussions on political issues should be under the aegis of the United Nations and in line with the roadmap and the objectives outlined by UN Security Council Resolution 2254. We reiterate the importance of strong and continuous support of the members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to the UN-brokered political dialogue in Geneva, with a view to moving forward with a credible and inclusive transitional governance, which represents the foundation of any meaningful and viable political solution in Syria. In this respect, we welcome the engagement of and reaffirm our firm support for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) with a view to a credible political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enables them to independently and democratically determine their own future. We call on all parties to engage meaningfully in the UN-led political negotiations. The regime in particular must finally show genuine engagement with the UN-led process so a peaceful and lasting solution to this dreadful conflict can be reached. We reiterate our commitment to the unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the Syrian State. While reiterating our commitment to fighting terrorism in any form in Syria, in particular ISIL/Da’esh and al Qaeda, we underline that any effort to end to violent radicalization, extremism and terrorism needs to include a serious and genuine effort toward a peaceful political transition and reconciliation process. We express grave concern at the continuing and alarming reports of the intense use of chemical weapons, including toxic chemicals as weapons, in Syria, and reiterate our strong support for the absolutely necessary work of the OPCWUN mandated Joint Investigative Mechanism, which concluded that the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were responsible for the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in three instances and ISIL/Da’esh in the use of chemical weapons in one. We express our resolve to ensure that the use of chemical weapons remains a taboo. In this respect, we deplore the vetoes opposed to the UN Security Council draft resolution aimed at condemning and holding accountable those responsible of the appalling acts addressed in the report of the OPCW-UN mandated Joint Investigative Mechanism. We are shocked and horrified by the reports of use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in the Khan Shaykhun area of southern Idlib on 4 April. Syria’s possession of chemical weapons and their means of delivery are illegal under UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Joint Communiqué | G7 FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING 7