Brussels, 16/10/2105 (Agence Europe) - During the night of Thursday 15 to Friday 16 October, the EU heads of state and government said during their meeting in Brussels that there could be no “sustainable peace in Syria under the current leadership and until the legitimate aspirations and demands of all the components of Syrian society are addressed”.
“We said very clearly that Bashar al-Assad is not the future and he will go”, said France's President François Hollande at the end of this European Council meeting. “Some could say (that he must go) immediately, in the middle, or at the end (of the process) (but) what is important is to say that he is not the future and therefore a move towards a political transition must be made as quickly as possible”, he said, going on to say that “Russian intervention can consolidate the regime but will not save Bashar al-Assad”. “It's important to try and have as representative a government as possible, but this cannot be led by the current head of the regime”, said Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
The text of the summit conclusions also bears witness to the EU's concerns as regards the military operations of the Russian Federation (which are targeting the Syrian opposition and leaving people wounded among the Syrian population) and as regards the risk of military escalation. The European Council thus states the need to focus on the fight against Da'esh and other terrorist groups that have been designated as such by the United Nations in the “framework of a united and coordinated strategy”. “The main enemy is Da'esh”, Rajoy stated.
With regard to Libya, the European Council reiterated the European offer to support a national unity government politically and financially, as soon as it takes up office. The European Commission has said it is ready to mobilise €100 million immediately. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with AN, LC, MB)