Brussels, 24/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 24 May, the leader of the Syrian national coalition and member of the Syrian opposition, Anas al-Abdah, called on the European Union to be more involved at the political level in order to resolve the crisis in his country.
“I call on the EU to play a bigger role in terms of political support, to be a partner in the Geneva 3 negotiations, and to help reach a political and peaceful solution in Syria, in order to start a political transition and rebuild Syria in terms of infrastructure and society”, he said during a press conference in Brussels with the chair of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, Elmar Brok. Brok supported al-Abdah's request and said the EU should take more responsibility for stopping the war.
The previous day, al-Abdah spoke to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and representatives from the European Commission and Parliament. At the end of these meetings, he said in a press release that he had received “strong assurances that the EU will play a proactive role in advancing the peace process both through tangible progress on humanitarian access and on the critical situation of detainees”.
During her press conference at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 23 May, Mogherini said that the EU would increase its political engagement in support for the intra-Syrian negotiations led by the UN special envoy, and that it would “play an even greater role in trying to facilitate the start of the political transition and the political talks in Geneva”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)