Brussels, 25/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 April, the European Union stated that the inter-Syrian negotiations should be resumed. The main Syrian opposition leaders of the High Negotiations Committee decided on 19 April to postpone their participation in the negotiations indefinitely, leaving only a technical team on the ground to continue discussions. UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura announced that the discussions would doubtless go on until Wednesday 27 April.
At a press conference with Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on 23 April, European Council President Donald Tusk underlined “the need for political talks to get back on track”. “Recent attacks on civilians and the prevention of humanitarian access are cynical attempts to derail the only real chance to stop the bloodshed”, he said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini added in a press release on Sunday 24 April that “the Geneva talks between the parties to the Syrian conflict are the essential path to a transitional political process that will restore peace”. In the spokesperson's view, both sides need “to participate fully, and in good faith, in the negotiations, which should continue under (…) de Mistura, as agreed”. Mogherini's spokesperson added that “sooner or later only political negotiations can resolve the conflict, and for the sake of all the people of Syria, this should be sooner”. The spokesperson also said that the EU was ready to support the political process “by all the means at its disposal”, and that the EU had full confidence in de Mistura to conduct this process.
For the transitional process to succeed, it requires “both sides to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement and allow the humanitarian access that will enable the populations under siege or in hard-to-reach areas to receive the support they need”, the spokesperson added. While considerable progress has been made since the cessation of hostilities entered into force, this has recently been “threatened by unilateral or retaliatory actions by one side or other”, Mogherini's spokesperson said. “If both sides do not step back, the situation will simply return to the violent stalemate that has caused such suffering in the past”, the spokesperson added, saying that the EU called on the guarantors of the cessation of hostilities and the relevant task force to bring the maximum influence to bear in order to end the breaches of the agreement. In addition, the EU will continue its joint efforts with the UN to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance, Mogherini's spokesperson stated. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)