Brussels, 16/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 14 September, just like many European foreign affairs ministers and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton welcomed the agreement of the same day between the US and Russia on chemical weapons in Syria. She called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) “to assume its responsibilities in agreeing swiftly on a resolution that will give further authority to the whole process”.
France's President François Hollande, his Minister for Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, and US Secretary of State John Kerry met in Paris on 16 September to prepare a UNSC resolution on the issue. They called for a firm and binding resolution with consequences if Syria does not fully comply with a UN resolution. The resolution could be voted on by the end of the week. “The military option must remain, otherwise there will be no constraint”, Hollande stressed on 15 September.
In a press release, Ashton was pleased that the US and Russia were demanding Syria provide the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the UN and other supporting personnel with immediate rights and unfettered access to inspect any and all sites in Syria. Ashton also welcomed the statement of commitment by the Syrian authorities to apply the chemical weapons convention on a provisional basis prior to its entry into force. The convention will enter into force on 14 October - in other words, 30 days after the UN's reception of Syria's full accession file on 14 September. On 15 September Syria also committed to comply with the UN decisions.
“This very ambitious plan, which provides for the total neutralisation of the Syrian chemical arsenal in less than a year is unprecedented in volume. Its implementation in a country at war will pose enormous challenges which can only be met by unfailing cooperation from the international community and Syrian authorities”, said Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders. In Fabius' view, this agreement is an “important advance, but it's a first step”.
EU assistance and political process. Stating that a number of member states have the necessary knowledge to help with securing the sites and to dismantle and destroy certain chemical agents, Ashton announced that the EU is ready “in close coordination with its member states (…) to offer further support to the OPCW in carrying out its important and urgent tasks”. Germany's Foreign Affairs Minister Guido Westerwelle said that Germany is ready to support the destruction of the chemical weapons with technical and financial assistance.
Ashton hoped that the US-Russian agreement might pave the way for the resumption of efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict, and she urged all the partners of the international community to support the swift holding of a peace conference on Syria. Like Reynders and Hague, Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt hoped that the Geneva II peace conference would take place quickly. Reynders called on the international community to bring the humanitarian assistance that the Syrian population needs.
Russia and the US have agreed on a six-point plan on the removal of chemical weapons from Syria - with a precise timetable. The draft decision will be submitted to the Executive Council of the OPCW in the next few days. The Syrian authorities have a week to present the list of their chemical weapons, then the inspectors are due to have access to inspect all the places “no later than in November”. The objective is to have removed all chemical weapons from Syria by mid-2014, in other words in nine months' time. This is a timetable that Hollande found “doubtless a little ambitious” because the time periods “are very short”. Syria apparently holds 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons spread over 45 different sites.
Meeting with the coalition. France announced a meeting next week with the Syrian coalition, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Meetings with the special envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, are also planned. (CG/transl.fl)