EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini has been working round the clock, speaking to her international partners “to try to restore the political process and humanitarian aid deliveries”, the European External Action Service announced on Thursday evening 13 October.
Against the backdrop of the continued escalation of the conflict in Syria, the European External Action Service (EEAS) says, Mogherini has spoken at length over the last two days to United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the foreign ministers of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Jubeir, of Iran, Javad Zarif, and of Turkey, Mevlut Çavusoglu. In her conversations, she has underlined that “it is crucial to restore a political process involving key international and regional players” and has “set out the ways in which the European Union could facilitate and support this perspective, in coordination with the United Nations”, the EEAS press release states. In discussion, Mogherini also spoke of the emergency humanitarian initiative for Aleppo, launched recently by the EU to deliver emergency relief to eastern Aleppo and other besieged areas and to allow the evacuation of people with urgent medical needs. The EU is still awaiting the necessary authorisation from the regime to be able to deliver humanitarian aid to eastern Aleppo.
A European source has said that Mogherini will not take part in the meeting in Switzerland on Saturday 15 October that will bring together Kerry, Lavrov and the ministers of several countries of the region. However, according to another source, the high representative, or at least an EU representative, is likely to attend the meeting in London on Sunday 16 October between the US secretary of state and his “international partners”.
The situation in Syria is on the agenda for discussion at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday 17 October. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)