Russia's Permanent Representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, believes that the European Union is out of the question about the post-conflict reconstruction of Syria while President Bashar al-Assad is in power in the country. He said this in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper published on Tuesday.
"As can be seen, there is not even talk about creating conditions for the return of refugees to the country, and, in fact, about the post-conflict reconstruction of the country. According to the same head of European diplomacy, it will only be possible to allocate EU funds for this purpose when the right conditions are in place. For Brussels, this means first of all the removal of Bashar al-Assad from power," Chizhov told the newspaper.
Chizhov pointed out that the European Union continued to impose sanctions on the Syrian leadership instead of inviting legitimate representatives of the Syrian authorities to the conference on Syria. "The EU is by no means aiming to facilitate the reconstruction of Syria and the return of refugees to the country, but to pursue quite different goals," Chizhov added, referring to the ongoing conference of international donors of aid to Syria.
The EU holds international aid donor conferences for Syria every year. In 2020, such a conference raised about €7 billion, which is usually used to support Syrian territories outside Damascus' government control as well as neighboring states, including Turkey, which have hosted Syrian refugees. At the same time, the EU refuses to respond to Russian initiatives to launch an international process of repatriation of refugees to Syria, where most of the war has already ended. Brussels claims that the time for the return of refugees "has not yet come" because "the necessary conditions for this are not in place". The 2021 conference is being held March 29-30 online because of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 75 delegations representing 50 countries.
On EU sanctions
On January 15, the European Union added Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad to its list of individuals and entities subject to unilateral EU restrictive measures. A statement of the EU Council noted that Miqdad, as a member of the Syrian government, "is responsible for the repression of the authorities against the civilian population".
The EU sanctions list includes the entire Syrian leadership, including President Bashar al-Assad and members of his family. All of them are banned from entering the territory of the community. Earlier, the EU added eight new ministers to the sanctions list, joining the Syrian government headed by Prime Minister Hussein Arnous, which was formed on August 30.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS