Sophie Mangal |
While speaking at a press conference during the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on April 3, 2017, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, stated that it is only the people of Syria who have a right to determine the future of their country. Even Mogherini realizes and supports the idea that a constitutional commission should be created comprising of Syrian people. The future of Syria can never be determined if the citizens of Syria themselves are not taken into consideration.
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The statement was released on the eve of a conference (devoted to determining the future of the country) scheduled on April, 5 in Brussels.
EU’s Proposal for Syria
The recently devised plan for Syria includes EU’s proposal to take initiative on resolving the Syrian issue. The possibility of rendering assistance to more than 13 million people of Syria is also considered. In addition, certain measures are to be taken directed towards strengthening stability and restoration of the country after the peace agreement is being consolidated.
The EU has proven its insufficiency in dealing with the Syrian conflict long ago when it turned the blind eye on some European countries, including Great Britain and France who have been lending assistance to the armed groups, supplying arms and money for their development.
Mogherini emphasized that the EU now is really interested in coordination of joint activity. First of all, it is referred to the cooperation both with the participants of the Syrian conflict and with the other countries of the Middle East region. Perhaps, the European Union has realized that it can become a participant in the Syrian conflict, which is able to cooperate with all the other sides on an equal basis. But the proposals and measures contradict to the real situation on the ground.
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The EU has proven its insufficiency in dealing with the Syrian conflict long ago when it turned a blind eye on some European countries, including the Great Britain and France who have been lending assistance to the armed groups, supplying arms and money for their development. Moreover, the governments of these countries didn’t prevent the entrance of their citizens in the ranks of ISIS through the territory of Turkey.
According to the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 adopted on December 2015, only the people of Syrians have a right to determine the future of their country without interference from third parties and excluding terrorist organizations from the political settlement.
Sophie Mangal is a freelance writer and a member of the Inside Syria Media Center. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a media and journalism major, Mangal monitored the refugee crisis in Europe, drawing parallels between the Syrian conflict and the Balkan problem, and has visited Syria on several occasions. This article was first published in The International Reporter and is republished with the permission of the author. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.