Brussels, 09/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini was in Paris on Monday 9 May to take part in a meeting of the Friends of Syria at ministerial level. The representative of Syria's opposition, Riyad Hijab, also attended.
“We will ask the Russians to put pressure so the Damascus regime stops the strikes”, French Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault told French radio station RTL ahead of the meeting. The ceasefire in the province of Aleppo, agreed to by the USA and Russia, has been in force since 4 May - first for 48 hours and then extended until Tuesday 10 May. According to Mogherini's press department, the meeting in Paris, which was still ongoing at the time of EUROPE going to press, was also aimed at supporting the Geneva peace process and preparing for the next round of inter-Syrian negotiations. In a joint press release on 9 May, the USA and Russia reiterated their determination to redouble efforts to reach a political settlement of the Syrian conflict through the intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva under the auspices of the UN.
In another press release on 5 May (see other article), Mogherini and European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides reiterated “the urgent need for a negotiated end to the civil war”. “It is time for the international community to act collectively and forcefully to put the process back on track”, they said.
During a press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington the previous day, Mogherini underlined the need to maintain the ceasefire. She said the EU was continuing work with its partners for the Geneva talks “to start with some substance that allows a transition and a change in governance”. “We will continue to work to de-escalate the violence all across Syria in hopes of being able to move back to the talks as soon as possible”, Kerry added. He also hoped “to have a new Syria Support Group meeting somewhere within the next two weeks in order to help accelerate, facilitate the process”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)