The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said, on Thursday 27 May, that the presidential elections held the previous day in Syria “met none of the criteria of a genuinely democratic vote and do not contribute to the settlement of the conflict” (see EUROPE B12678A2).
Syrians voted in the regions under the control of the regime, meaning two thirds of the country. The vote is expected to give Bashar Al-Assad a fourth seven-year mandate....