When arriving at the Gymnich in Sofia on Thursday 15 February, several European ministers expressed a degree of cautiousness about possible French airstrikes on Syria. The previous day, France's President Emmanuel Macron had announced that if France had "hard evidence that outlawed chemical weapons are used against civilians" in Syria by the regime, it "would strike".
"The term 'red line' should always be used with care (...) We had a similar situation in 2013", Austria's Foreign Affairs Minister Karin Kneissl stated, and at that time, France, the USA and UK backed down.
"I don't think we should have another debate on chemical weapons like that of 2013. It is something that brings even more problems now, and now we need to focus on this resolution (of Sweden and Kuwait) at the UN" in order then to be able to speak about transition and reconciliation, Luxembourg's minister, Jean Asselborn, stated. In a joint text, Sweden and Kuwait have proposed a 30-day truce for humanitarian reasons to the United Nations Security Council. "If it is necessary to intervene (on chemical weapons), I believe it is necessary to do this at the level of international law, and so at the level of the Security Council", Asselborn said in an aside to EUROPE. He stated that the international community should focus on the fight against Islamic State (Daesh). "What is really important, for the coalition and for the EU, is that we act in a united way, together, and in an organised fashion", Bulgaria's minister, Ekaterina Zaharieva, stated.
When asked about Macron's ideas, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini also emphasised the UN. "The EU has always been extremely firm (on chemical weapons), firstly in our support for the work of the UN system to monitor the possible use of chemical weapons, and we have always believed that any movement on that side, at that level, should be monitored and followed up in the United Nations system extremely seriously", she said.
Highlighting political process. When arriving at the Gymnich, the French minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, did not speak about the president's proposal, preferring to focus on the political process. "The tragedy continues. We were in a civil war and now there is a risk of major regional crisis. It is therefore important that the Geneva process starts again as quickly as possible and that a phase of political transition is entered into, which is not the case today – far from it", Le Drian said. He wanted the UN mandate to be strengthened "so that (UN Special Envoy Staffan) De Mistura can enable the Geneva process to start again and so that there might finally be a faint glimmer of hope".
"The EU is not a direct actor. It is important for us to have a big influence on all the actors, for them to know that this war cannot be won with weapons. It is now seven years that this war has lasted", Asselborn said, adding that the Turkish operation in Syria "could do a lot of damage". "It is now important to have a month of ceasefire and to do the utmost for there to be a transition phase in order to be able to move forwards", he said.
According to a European source, the ministers insisted on the Geneva process over lunch, which was spent discussing Syria. "Nearly everyone stated that it was important to support the political process and De Mistura's work. Everyone will do their utmost for the discussions to start again, and for there to be results in the future", the same source told a small group of journalists, including from EUROPE. The EU will strengthen its work with the Syrian opposition, with a view to starting negotiations, the source added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)