Brussels, 08/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - According to Michael Mann, the spokesman for the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, speaking to EUROPE on 7 October, the EU is prepared to activate an information hub, if requested by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The information hub will be in charge of receiving all technical requests from the OPCW and/or the United Nations and publishing all OPCW requests to member states, as well as the latter's' respective responses to these demands, explained the spokesman. Mann also said that this hub “is intended to speed up the process by utilizing the capacities of the EU Military Staff for quick and effective communications to the relevant agencies of EU member states”. Although the OPCW and UN have written to request armoured cars, he explained that, “we are coordinating and working to finalise our response… we have provided satellite imaging for the UN and OPCW and we will continue to do so if they ask for it”.
On 8 October, the OPCW announced that a second team of inspectors would be sent to Syria to step up the pace of inspections of the chemical weapons arsenal and its destruction. This team subsequently completes the reconnaissance team that has been in the field since 1 October.
Pulling out all the stops for a Geneva II this November. The Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, has announced that the Geneva II peace conference could take place in November. On 6 October he said, “I am attempting to invite everyone during the second half of November… we will have to see. I'm remaining realistic about it”. He also emphasised that the regime and coalition should not impose preconditions. On 7 October, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, stated that the US and Russia had reached an agreement calling on the UN Security Council to organise this conference during the second week of November and that they would ask for a date to be arranged as soon as possible.
Mann pointed out that, “the foreseen November date is the target to which we gear our efforts … The whole international community needs to be instrumental and provide all assistance necessary to make the conference by that date a reality. Both the regime and the opposition sides must be ready to participate at the conference with a sufficiently strong negotiations mandate and genuine willingness to negotiate and make compromises. Unity and representativeness will have to be ensured on the opposition side to the maximum possible extent.” (CG)