EU Reiterates Refusal to Normalize Ties with Syrian Regime

Arab World

February 5th, 5:41am

Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek

Syrians are seen at a refugee camp near Afrin in the Aleppo countryside on Saturday. (dpa)

The European Union reiterated on Friday its rejection of any rapprochement with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Head of the EU mission to Syria, Dan Stoenescu held talks with head of the Syrian opposition Negotiations Commission Bader Jamous in Istanbul. In a tweet, Stoenescu said: “We talked about the need of stepping up efforts to revive the Constitutional Committee and the political process in Geneva.” “I assured him of the continuous commitment of the EU to the full implementation of United Nations Secuity Council resolution 2254,” he added. He stressed that the EU rejects any normalization with the regime, the lifting of sanctions or embarking on Syria’s reconstruction before Damascus engages in the political transition process and commits fully to resolution 2254. For his part, Jamous tweeted that the solution in Syria does not lie in humanitarian aid, but rather through a political solution that meets the aspirations of its people. Any delay in reaching the solution will only deepen the suffering of Syrians inside Syria and abroad, he added. Moreover, he urged the need to increase aid to the Syrian refugees in neighboring Lebanon and the internally displaced in northern Syria. A delegation from the Negotiations Commission had also recently met with the EU’s Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa (EEAS) Helene Le Gal in Brussels. The delegation had underscored the dire humanitarian “catastrophe” in Syria and urged the EU to increase aid in opposition-held regions. Le Gal stressed that there can be no normalization with Damascus until progress is made in the political process. Russia, meanwhile, has been intensifying its contacts to maintain the momentum in its drive to normalize ties between Türkiye and the Damascus regime. It added that Iran would be taking part in these efforts. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar had announced on Wednesday that a technical meeting will be held soon to follow up on the implementation of the agreement reached between the defense ministers and heads of intelligence of Türkiye, Russia and Syria in Moscow on December 28. He stressed that Türkiye’s rapprochement with the regime aims to combat terrorism, secure the safe return of Syrian refugees to their country and achieve stability in Syria.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4138616/eu-reiterates-refusal-normalize-ties-syrian-regime