Syria: “We believe a political solution is still needed”
Negotiations will still be needed to find a permanent solution for Syria despite any military action that might be taken, warned Elmar Brok, the chair of the EP’s foreign affairs committee. On behalf of the committee, he also condemned the use of chemical weapons in the war-torn country and criticised China and Russia for not doing more to help find a peaceful solution.
Mr Brok, a German member of the EPP group, spoke out following a special meeting of the foreign affairs committee on 28 August to discuss the situation in Syria and Egypt as well as EU relations with Ukraine. He stressed there was only so much military action could achieve: “Even if a military strike comes, we believe that a political solution still is needed. It should not be the result that at the end of the day there is a fundamentalist government which might even be worse than what was there before.”
The chair of the foreign affairs committee also hit out at the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria: “It is unacceptable to use mass destruction means like it were used there and this indeed are red lines that are for the international community not acceptable.”
EP president Martin Schulz warned against rushing into military action in a tweet: “No to hasty and unilateral intervention in Syria. International community has to act together and on the basis of UN report's results.”
