The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy warned on Wednesday 13 March against a situation in Syria that is neither a war situation nor a peace situation.
"The EU is determined to avoid that Syria becomes a forgotten war. We are entering into a different phase of the conflict [...] we risk entering into a zone of neither war nor peace that doesn’t constitute a sustainable basis for Syrian to feel home in their country and for the country to move forward", she warned at a press briefing with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on the eve of the Ministerial Conference on Syria in Brussels III, which, according to Ms Mogherini, will include 55 countries and 20 international and regional organisations.
As the regime increasingly regains control over the whole territory, the High Representative considered that winning the war did not mean winning the peace. "The inclusive political transition process will need to happen in order to reconcile the country and move forward. You can even militarily win the war [but] it’s a different thing to build the peace, to unite the country to make Syria the home of all Syrians", she said, believing that lasting peace could only be achieved through political negotiations.
For his part, Mr Pedersen recalled that United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 contained all the elements necessary to find a political solution to the conflict, which has entered its 9th year.
Once again, Ms Mogherini warned that the EU would only participate in the reconstruction of Syria once a transition process had begun, arguing that the EU's position could be an "incentive" for the parties to engage in peace negotiations. Other states are already beginning to finance the reconstruction of the country.
Earlier in the day, during the Days of Dialogue with Syrian Civil Society, the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy, Johannes Hahn, recalled that the EU does not encourage the return of refugees to Syria because the conditions of "security and dignity" are not met. "Refugees need to return under conditions of safety and dignity, when, and only when, it is of their own will. These conditions do not currently exist: Idlib is controlled by a terrorist organisation, reprisals have taken place in the areas taken over by Damascus. Property rights are being actively undermined and there is continuing uncertainty over issues of civil documentation; and no one knows if education certificates will be recognised", he detailed. “Damascus appears intent on screening returnees for ‘loyalty’, slowing and manipulating the issue of return. This has miserable consequences for Syrians, but impacts as well on Syria’s neighbours, the wider region, and of course the European Union”, he added.
The Commissioner promised that the EU would continue to “support the emergence of conditions that will, one day, allow more refugees to return. That means helping citizens hold the authorities accountable, promoting the respect of property rights and working to ensure that civil documentation is not a source of uncertainty for those seeking to return to their homes.” (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)