EU says Russia strikes on Syrian rebels must ‘cease’

By Jacopo Barigazzi

Foreign ministers also agree that Assad ‘cannot be a partner’ in fight against Islamic State.

LUXEMBOURG — EU countries agreed Monday that Bashar al-Assad must not be part of any future Syrian government and demanded that Russia stop its attacks on the moderate opposition in the country, but they stopped short of calling for an immediate effort to remove the Syrian president.
Foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg issued a joint EU declaration that “there cannot be a lasting peace in Syria under the present leadership.”

But in the same document, the EU also urged “all those with influence on the parties, including on the Syrian regime, to use this influence to encourage” a political transition.
“Now we have to find the moment when the political transition will allow Assad to leave, which is the object of the discussion at a political level,” Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told journalists as the meeting was under way.
EU countries also called on the Syrian regime to cease “all aerial bombardments” and “the use of chemical weapons.” It accused Assad of bearing “the greatest responsibility for the 250,000 deaths of the conflict and the millions of displaced people,” and reiterated Europe’s call to the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.
Finally the EU stated it supports efforts to counter the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Syria and Iraq but argues that the Assad “regime cannot be a partner in the fight.”
The crisis in Syria topped the agenda of the meeting, as Europe scrambles to find a response to what Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general, described Thursday as “a troubling escalation in Russia’s military activities.”
Moscow has denied Western accusations that its airstrikes in Syria have mainly targeted Assad’s opponents, insisting its attacks have hit Islamic State and other militant groups. Meanwhile, Turkey, a member of NATO, has complained that Russian jets have violated its airspace.

“Assad is the origin of this problem, and cannot be part of the solution” — French President François Hollande.

In the meeting’s conclusions, EU members stated that “the recent Russian military attacks that go beyond Dae’sh [the Arabic acronym of Isis] and other UN-designated terrorist groups, as well as on the moderate opposition, are of deep concern, and must cease immediately.”
But finding the right wording on Russia was not easy, two diplomatic sources said. Four member states originally did not want Russia mentioned at all, said one of the officials, who would not name the countries.
Finding a way forward on Syria certainly was also not easy. French President François Hollande told the UN general assembly last month that “Assad is the origin of this problem, and cannot be part of the solution.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been more reserved in her language. “We have to speak with many actors, this includes Assad, but others as well,” she said after a summit of EU leaders in September.
The meeting statement covers both points of view: the need to take on terrorists; and the search for a political solution to the conflict within the framework of the United Nations.
Around four million Syrians are believed to have fled the country. More than half of those are in Turkey, from where vast numbers seek to get to the EU via Greece. In September, 168,000 people crossed the Mediterranean — “the highest monthly figure ever recorded and almost five times the number in September 2014,” said the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
“If we do not find a way to act, in a few months, after Russia’s intervention, in Syria there will be only Assad and ISIS, with nothing left in the middle which is what Putin wants,” said an EU diplomat.

Rising tension in Turkey

Ahead of yet another summit of EU leaders on Thursday and Friday, at which migration will be a hot topic, ministers discussed the refugee crisis over lunch Monday. One of the points on the agenda is a draft action plan presented by the European Commission last week that urges Turkey to help the EU deal with the migration flow from Syria.
“Ankara has the key to resolve a big part of our migration problems,” said an EU official.
“I am afraid this escalation is turning into a proxy war like the one in Afghanistan in the ’80s, with the difference this time that Turkey is taking the role of Pakistan,” said Salih Bicakci, professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.
The escalation in violence in Turkey was illustrated vividly by a terror attack on Saturday in Ankara which killed at least 95 people and injured hundreds. The bomb blasts took place near the central train station as people gathered for a march organized by leftist groups demanding an end to the violence between the Turkish government and the Kurdish separatist PKK militants.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the deadliest terrorist attacks in Turkey’s recent history. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there was evidence that two suicide bombers had carried out the attack and said Kurdish or far-left militants could have carried out the bombing.
But some Turks blame the government for security failures and hold it responsible for the spiraling violence.

Libyan progress

The foreign ministers also discussed the situation in Libya, which was added to the agenda at the last minute after Bernandino León, UN envoy to the North African country, announced Thursday that there had been progress in forming a united government.
According to the statement agreed by foreign ministers, the EU “recognizes that this will be an important first step in returning Libya on the path towards peaceful transition, but it is a step that is essential to take now,” adding that “those tempted to obstruct this agreement will be held responsible.”
Libya has been torn between two capitals since the Western military intervention in 2011 that toppled Muammar Qadhafi: Tripoli, in the west, and Tobruk, in the east. On Thursday, León proposed the names of those who would form part of a unity government, if they are approved by Libya’s two conflicting parliaments.
“It is a very weak agreement,” said Arturo Varvelli, an expert in Libya at the Italian Institute for Political Studies.“It’s still only an attempt to have a government and not a real agreement and there is even the danger that what is left of Tripoli’s Islamic militias could react badly to joining forces with ISIL against the new government.”
The EU hopes any agreement will stem the flow of migrants crossing from Libya to Sicily. To sweeten a deal, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said after León’s announcement that the EU “stands ready to offer immediate substantial political and financial support — worth €100 million — to the new government.”