Brussels, 10/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Cypriot foreign affairs minister, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, said on Saturday 8 September that her European counterparts had agreed in Paphos (Cyprus) to strengthen sanctions against the Syrian regime. “There is a consensus (…) on increasing sanctions in Syria”, she said. “If we want to push forward, sanctions need to be strengthened with regard to Bashar al-Assad's clan”, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. “On the French side, we are doing our work, and together with our colleagues for the economy and finance, we are going to propose new sanctions”, Fabius went on. “There is a general feeling that pressure on the regime needs to be increased for the violence to stop, and for humanitarian aid to be able to enter the country”, added Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil.
However the head of Swedish diplomacy, Carl Bildt, was more sceptical. “We can do this, although I don't think that it has had any major effect on the ground up to now”, he said, adding that “we must be careful”. In Bildt's opinion, some measures have been negative, like those targeting the Syrian Airlines company, which prevented Europeans from leaving Syria.
Helping the opposition unite and an inclusive transition. During their discussions the ministers discussed diplomatic solutions, the humanitarian situation and political transition. They also spoke of their support for the mission of the new UN representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, whom High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton will meet in New York at the end of September.
“We have a common position on Syria. We have a determined message”, said Kozakou-Marcoullis, in particular on the humanitarian situation and the neighbouring countries of Syria (our translation throughout). According to the foreign minister for Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, in the coming weeks and months Europeans are going to send aid to the countries that are receiving the refugees and must try to convince the members of the United Nations Security Council to move on the humanitarian plan.
Ashton again called for the opposition to unite and for inclusive political transition. She said that Syria must belong to its people, who must feel involved in their future. She also said that the opposition must be united for a future in Syria, and on several occasions she stressed the importance of having a process which left no one aside. (CG/transl.fl)