Brussels/Strasbourg, 10/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - It was with caution that Europe welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's request that the Syrian regime should place its chemical arsenal under international supervision, a proposal accepted by the regime in Damascus.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton hailed the proposal, underlining that “this now needs to be fully worked up as quickly as possible including the details of its implications in terms of safe storage, verification and destruction”. The EU is willing to fully support any proposal and its implementation, she added. Calling on Syria to sign up to the Chemical Weapons Convention as a matter of urgency and to ratify the Biological Weapons Convention, Ashton “looks to the Syrian authorities to take full responsibility for ensuring that their chemical weapons are stored securely pending independently verified destruction, and are not permitted to fall into the hands of any other state or non-state”. Ashton also hoped these latest developments would facilitate the resumption of efforts towards a political solution to the Syrian conflict. She urged all partners in the international community to seize this momentum to reinvigorate the process leading to the swift holding of a Geneva II peace conference.
The chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the European Parliament, Elmar Brok (EPP, Germany), said “the al-Assad regime must hand over all its stock of chemical weapons to the international community without delay and in its entirety”. He added that international experts must be authorised to move freely on the territory controlled by the government and to have unhindered access to all military documents and installations. The president of the ALDE Group at the EP, Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium, deemed it necessary to “test the Russian intentions in coming days”. “We must see if they are in earnest. I have many questions - it sounds very good but in practice …..”, he added. Verhofstadt's counterpart at the head of the S&D Group, Hannes Swoboda of Austria, said “our main task is to prevent other attacks with chemical weapons. Consequently, the best option would be for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons for controlled destruction”. “In that context”, he said, “it would be best if the UN were to adopt a resolution aimed at clarifying the transfer of those weapons in the greatest detail”. The co-president of the Greens, Daniel Cohn-Bendit of Germany, pointed out that the United States had proposed controlling chemical weapons one year ago but that Russia had refused. Nonetheless, he noted, “the fact that there was military mobilisation forced the Russians and Syria to make a move”.
Seeing if words are followed up with deeds.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said that, if Syria puts its chemical weapons out of use under international control, this would “clearly … be a big step forward and should be encouraged”. “I think we have to be careful though to make sure this is not a distraction”, he said, going on: “If the proposal is serious”, however, it is “definitely worth exploring”. German Chancellor Angela Merkel considered the Russian proposal “interesting”, hoping that tangible deeds will follow and that this is not delaying tactics.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius took the view that the proposal deserves “close examination”. “The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad must, without delay, commit to placing his whole chemical arsenal under international control for destruction. And that operation can be done on the basis of a binding resolution from the Security Council, with a short timetable and firm consequences if he does not comply”, he explained, calling for “precise commitments from the Syrian regime, commitments that are also rapid and verifiable”. Paris will present a resolution that frames, in a binding manner, the placing under control of the Syrian chemical arsenal at the United Nations Security Council.
Barack Obama said the Russian proposal could be a “potential breakthrough”. He also stressed: “We don't want just a stalling or delaying tactic to put off the pressure that we have on there right now”. According to the US president, it would have been unlikely to reach this point without a credible military threat to deal with the question of using chemical arms in Syria.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called for the creation of specific areas for the Syrian chemical weapons, saying he is studying the possibility of urgently calling on the Security Council to demand the immediate transfer of stocks of weapons and chemical precursors to the zones in Syria where they could be safely stored and destroyed. The Arab League and China support this initiative.
Damascus has agreed to place its chemical arsenal under international control, the Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, said on Tuesday 10 September. His Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said his country was working on developing a plan that was feasible, precise and concrete with the Syrian regime. Lavrov said they intend to present the plan as soon as possible and will be ready to work on this with the UN secretary general, the members of the Security Council, and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). He explained that the proposal has emerged out of contacts with the Americans and especially the statements on 9 September by John Kerry who offered the possibility of avoiding strikes if the problem could be settled otherwise.
The Syrian opposition has denounced the initiative, describing it as a “political manoeuvre”.
The Syrian chemical arsenal is estimated at over 1,000 tonnes by the French intelligence services. It is considered one of the largest in the world.
Debate at European Parliament.
Elmar Brok welcomed the recent statement by the 28 foreign ministers on Syria (see EUROPE 10917). He underlined that the EP's position was close to their stance and that the EPP Group had decided, on Monday 9 September, to support the position held by the European ministers. The EP is to debate the situation in Syria with Catherine Ashton on Wednesday 11 September and will vote on a resolution on Thursday 12 September. (CG with MD/transl.jl)