14 EU Foreign Ministers on Idlib: End the Offensive, Resume the Ceasefire

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 14 European Union (EU) countries have released a joint op-ed about the escalating tension in Syria's Idlib.

Signed by the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Ireland, the statement has made a call to "the Syrian regime and its supporters to end the offensive and to resume the ceasefire."

Referring to Turkey, the Foreign Ministers have also "called on Russia to continue negotiations with Turkey in order to de-escalate the dire situation in Idlib and contribute to a political solution."

Click for the German version of op-ed published on t-online.de

Some highlights from the op-ed are as follows:

'A strategy of military reconquest at any cost'

"The Syrian regime continues its strategy of military reconquest of the country at any cost, regardless of the consequences for Syrian civilians.

"Since December, its operations in the north-west have grown in intensity, with support from Russian aircraft.

"The unremitting air strikes and the dropping of barrel bombs have forced nearly one million Syrians to flee in just a few weeks.

'Fighting terrorism doesn't mean violations of law'

"It is perfectly clear to us that there are radical groups in Idlib. We would never take terrorism lightly. We are fighting terrorism with determination and are on the front lines of the fight against Daesh.

"But fighting terrorism cannot and must not justify massive violations of international humanitarian law, which we are witnessing every day in north-west Syria.

'End the hostilities, honor your obligations'

"The United Nations has warned of the risk of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis if the current offensive continues.

"We call on the Syrian regime and its supporters to end this offensive and to resume the ceasefire established in autumn 2018.

"We call on them to immediately end hostilities and honour their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of humanitarian workers and medical personnel, who have lost their lives because of their commitment to civilian populations in Idlib.

Call to Russia: Continue negotiations with Turkey

"We also call on Russia to continue negotiations with Turkey in order to de-escalate the dire situation in Idlib and contribute to a political solution.

"Beyond the urgency of a truce in Idlib, we call on Russia not to block the Security Council in the coming months from renewing the mechanism allowing for desperately needed cross-border humanitarian aid to be transported to north-west Syria; a mechanism that it has already shut down in the north-east, where we now need to identify alternatives to the Al Yaroubiyah crossing.

'Only a politically negotiated end will be durable'

"Finally, it is important to remember that only a politically negotiated end to the conflict can serve as a durable conclusion to the Syrian crisis. Political normalization cannot happen before a genuine, irreversible political process is firmly underway.

"But the reconquest under way is an illusion and the same causes will produce the same effects: radicalization, instability in Syria and in the region, and exile, in a country where more than half the population is displaced or living as refugees.

'Europe continues to apply pressure on regime'

"Europe continues to apply pressure on the regime to genuinely engage in the political process. On 17 February, Europeans adopted fresh sanctions that target, on an individual basis, Syrian businesspersons who are fuelling the regime's war efforts and benefiting from its impact.

"It is also our responsibility to fight impunity with regard to the crimes committed in Syria. It is a matter of principle and justice. It is also a necessary condition for sustainable peace, in a Syrian society that has been torn apart by nearly ten years of conflict.

"We will maintain our commitment, including within the framework of our national jurisdictions, to ensure that the crimes committed in Syria do not go unpunished. Such crimes have included the use of chemical weapons, breaching most fundamental norms of international law."

(SD)