Brussels, 20/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Welcoming the agreement of 11 November between the Syrian opposition groups and in particular the formation of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the EU27 foreign affairs ministers said on Monday 19 November that “the EU considers them legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people”. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said that all the member states stand ready to accept this coalition, and that the resolve to cooperate with the coalition should not be underestimated.
In the view of several diplomats, the coalition is the most important interlocutor but not the exclusive one. “Everyone is in agreement for recognition sooner or later, but differences remain”, the Luxembourgish minister, Jean Asselborn, said. The ministers are waiting for the coalition - created on 11 November - to prove itself before recognising it. The Belgian minister, Didier Reynders, said that there are few Kurds, no Alawites and no deserters of the government in this coalition. The French minister, Laurent Fabius, proposed that the members of the coalition be invited to the next Foreign Affairs Council planned for 10 December, which would be an “important symbol” in Fabius' view and was an idea supported by Belgium (our translation).
In their conclusions, the ministers say that the agreement obtained in Doha represents “a major step towards the necessary unity of the Syrian opposition”. They state that the EU “looks forward to this new coalition continuing to work for full inclusiveness, subscribing to the principles of human rights and democracy and engaging with all opposition groups and all sections of Syrian civil society”. According to the Council, the EU is ready to support this coalition in its endeavours and its relations with the international community, and it encourages the coalition to engage with the special representative and to put forward its programme for a political transition with a view to creating a credible alternative to the current regime.
The leader of the coalition (which brings together 14 groups), Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, announced on Monday that his headquarters would be in Egypt. The armed Islamist groups, Liwaa al-Tawhid and the al-Nosra Front, have rejected this coalition.
The United Kingdom recognised the coalition on Tuesday as the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, announced.
Arms embargo prolonged. Several European sources have confirmed to EUROPE that all the restrictive measures against Syria, including the arms embargo, will be prolonged for 12 months “in the near future”. These measures were due to come to an end on 30 November. Another source confirmed that the French minister had tackled the embargo issue at the meeting on 19 November, saying that there had not been “any kind of decision”. “The issue of recognition is in a certain sense a more urgent question. It is easier to negotiate in support of an entity that is recognised and supported”, she said. (CG/transl.fl)