Strasbourg, 13/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton announced on Tuesday 12 June that the contact group proposed by Kofi Annan would meet in Geneva on 30 June. She told the European Parliament (EP) that it had not yet been decided who would be at the meeting, but that she would be there, and Russia, too. Between now and 30 June, Kofi Annan would, she went on, do all in his power to prevent further escalation of the civil war and would try to ensure that everyone agrees on a common goal. She trusted that none in the region would do anything to obstruct that goal. She again repeated her support for the Annan peace plan. Perhaps his plan is dead, but Annan has a UN mandate which is still valid, she said. She pledged her support to his efforts until such time as the UN calls time and says it is time to try a new approach.
During the debate, MEPs failed to come to any agreement on how the conflict might be resolved. Ignacio Salafranca (Spain), speaking for the EPP, said: “The Annan plan has failed. Alternatives have to be considered. It's not with economic sanctions that we'll resolve the situation.” He added: “Given the failure of diplomatic measures, I wonder what alternatives remain.” He said it would be “difficult” to break out of the crisis in the short term “without a military presence on the ground”. Franziska Brantner (Greens/EFA, Germany) argued that there had to be a team of thousands of people on the ground: “We have to be ready, when the time comes, to deploy a peace-keeping operation on the ground.” “We have a duty to consider all possible measures”, stated Kriistina Ojuland (ALDE, Estonia), as did Charles Tannock (ECR, UK), who argued that Bashar al Assad should be tried before the International Criminal Court. He also proposed intervention to put in place a humanitarian corridor. Richard Howitt (S&D, UK) called for an emergency plan to set up a humanitarian corridor with the support of an EU mission.
Véronique De Keyser (S&D, Belgium) argued that military presence was not the way forward. “The impact of a military intervention would be much worse” (than the present situation), in her view. She highlighted the geographical position of Syria and expressed her fears of the conflict spreading to neighbouring countries as part of an inter-confessional war. “We must stress and put our faith in diplomacy”, added Willy Meyer (GUE, Spain).
Boris Zala (S&D, Slovenia), however, like Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA, France) and Paul Murphy (GUE, Ireland), said there was no right solution to the conflict. “There is no ideal solution, no matter what action is taken. There is nothing that can stop the massacres or bring about peaceful transition”, he said. (CG/transl.rt)