On Monday 12 February, the European Union called on the Syrian parties, their allies and regional actors to maintain their calm – with tension between Israel and Iran having risen over the weekend.
"Military escalation in Syria, including the events we have seen at the Israeli border over the weekend are deeply worrying. It could indeed lead to a dangerous spill over", the spokesperson for the European External Action Service, Maja Kocijancic, stated. "We are following the situation very closely and at the same time we urge the Syrian parties, their allies and the regional players to abide by international law, to show restraint and to avoid action that further escalates the situation and prolongs the suffering of civilians", she said.
Kocijancic stated that the EU had constantly underlined there was no alternative to a political solution to the Syrian crisis, and she underlined European support to the Geneva process, under the auspices of the United Nations.
Tension rose this weekend between Israel, Syria and its Iranian ally. Israel shot down a drone that was flying over its territory and sent F16 fighters to destroy the drone's Iranian-held launch base. In retaliation, the Syrian army brought down one of the F16s, which led to Israel's wide-scale bombing of 12 targets of the Syrian anti-aircraft defence system. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)