Members of the European Parliament are expected on Tuesday to question EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on the Middle East, including the situation in Syria.
The parliament is meeting for its monthly plenary session in Strasbourg, France.
Christian-Democrat MEP Sari Essaya from Finland told EJP that the official topic of the discussion was originally the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem but it was changed into a debate on the Mideast and especially on Syria. “Is Syria not more urgent than any other topic?,” asked the MEP, who is a member of the European Friends of Israel.
During a visit to Turkey at the end of last month, European Parliament President Martin Schultz said all the countries of the world "have to condemn in the strongest terms the massacres being committed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad." But he noted that the solution to the crisis lies in the United Nations Security Council.
Last week, Catherine Ashton condemned the "horrendous" and "unforgivable" massacres of citizens in Syria.
"It is totally unacceptable and unforgivable that any party to the Syrian conflict, either government or opposition forces, continues to commit these heinous acts of violence against innocent Syrian citizens," she said.
"I strongly condemn the brutal violence and killing of dozens of civilians yesterday" in the villages of Al-Kubeir and Maarzaf in Hama province, she added in a statement.
"The Syrian government has the responsibility to protect its people," the statement also said. "I call for a full investigation of the horrendous crimes and support all efforts to this end."
Ashton said the EU also condemned efforts to obstruct the implementation of Special Envoy Kofi Annan's six point plan and called on the international community "to unite behind a political process leading to a democratic transition."
"It is time for us to agree on a united way forward. There is no time to lose. The UN Security Council must continue to support Kofi Annan and use all its influence to stop the violence.”
by Yossi Lempkowicz
EJP
