Andrew Tabler, a specialist on Syria at the Washington Institute for the Near East, told MEPs in the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee on Monday 6 November, and then press on Tuesday 7 November, that it was important to take out sanctions over the use of chemical weapons by the regime in Damascus.
"There is an immediate need to impose EU and US sanctions concerning the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime", he said. Indeed, on 26 October, the United Nations Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded that the information obtained on the responsibility of the Syrian regime in the Khan Sheikhoun attack that claimed 83 lives on 4 April was credible and reliable evidence.
Tabler also said Europeans should exert pressure for the perpetrators of war crimes to be made accountable. "By sending a message on war crimes, we will show that we will not return to the situation of before", he said. Tabler has worked on Syria for 16 years and said that a number of representatives consider that speaking about war crimes too early would limit the options for Bashar al-Assad to leave power and could be counter-productive. But the continuation of the war and the brutality "has made it much more imperative for the issue of war crimes to be opened", he said. He nevertheless recognised that because of there being a number of international parties to the conflict, an investigation into war crimes could affect a whole series of countries.
Tabler also said that Western countries should put the focus, "in the short-term", on the stabilisation of areas where the West has links, especially where Syrian democratic forces are present, areas in south-western Syria "where EU and US aid to NGOs and other organisations has developed trusted allies", he said. In his view, the same rules should then be applied for Syria's reconstruction. Tabler said there was an opportunity to make the reconstruction funds conditional on transition in Syria because, in his opinion, Assad's regime and its allies do not have funds for reconstruction. The Western countries that did not take part in the conflict "have the possibility to shape the future", he said.
In the meantime, Tabler stated that the EU should continue its humanitarian aid action.
"The member states must continue their policy in coordination with the US", he said. "The particular objective that we all have in Syria is a particularly complex objective. It is not only about resolution of the war, but also about a settlement that enables the refugees to return easily", he said. The Geneva talks for finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria are expected to be resumed on 20 November. Tabler stated that while the government, like the opposition, seems not to change position, international pressure works, and if the US, Russia and other actors, like the EU, could have the same agenda, there could be results. "But it will be much harder than we thought", he acknowledged.
Tabler also warned against a possible new influx of refugees. "What should immediately concern the EU" is the possibility of a new wave of refugees that could arrive from Idlib, via Turkey, he said. The regime troops, backed by Hezbollah and Russia, are currently asking people to leave the area. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)