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Paris- The Syrian file has once again appeared on the discussion table within European UnionLast month, after foreign ministers called for Croatia And the Greek Cypriot administration andAustria Czech Republic andItaly Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia called on the bloc to “review and evaluate” its political stance towards Syria.
Thirteen years after the war began, the foreign ministers of the eight countries stressed that they seek to establish a “more active and practical policy towards Syria” in order to “increase our political influence and the effectiveness of our humanitarian assistance,” according to an informal document in which they called for “open and impartial” discussions.
While this document stressed the need to improve relations with the Syrian President, Bashar al-AssadAt the same time, it faced opposition from some European countries, in a clear indication of the conflict of political interests – both hidden and declared – that change the rules of the game of foreign diplomacy.
European trot
In a joint letter, the European ministers proposed designating so-called “safe zones” within those controlled by the Syrian regime, and creating a post of EU-Syria envoy to take on the task of returning the Syrian ambassador to Brussels.
Leslie Farin, director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations Studies in Paris, pointed out that there was a previous desire by some European countries – including Italy – to get closer to the Syrian regime and restore diplomatic relations, but that did not happen after American pressure.
She wondered whether this trend had returned to the discussion again due to the decline in pressures. WashingtonOr because of problems? US The Interior Ministry allowed it to be eased. In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Farin considered that dealing with the diplomatically isolated Syrian regime is more difficult than resuming relations. Return of ambassadors and renewal of discussions With him.
For his part, the director does not see Syrian Network for Human Rights Fadl Abdul Ghani said that the message submitted by the ministers was “official”, but rather a document aimed at discussion within the European Union and submitted by 8 countries that are “marginal and ineffective in the Syrian file, and therefore its impact will be limited.”
In a statement to Al Jazeera Net, Abdul Ghani described this step as a “failed experiment” and a waste of time because Bashar al-Assad will ask Western countries – as he did previously with Arab countries – to pay millions of dollars to rebuild the areas from which refugees fled without setting a specific date for their return.
migration engine
The assessment of the European position on Syria is also to abandon the “three no’s” (no to normalization, no to lifting sanctions, no to reconstruction without achieving tangible progress in the political process), which means that normalizing relations between the Syrian regime and Europe will lead to the end of the wide-ranging European sanctions on the country.
In this context, Abdul Ghani believes that the immigration file is the main driver for putting this European document up for discussion, saying that “Italy is well aware that Assad is a dictatorial president and has previously criticized him on several occasions, which means that the Syrian refugee file is what has moved these countries, which are mostly led by the far right.” Therefore, “Italy seeks to Rome To pressure the European Union to prevent the reception of refugees and issue new laws in this regard.
Contrary to the desires of European countries, the director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights expects that this approach will lead to the generation of larger numbers of refugees because activating the “currently weak” European role in the political solution is the only solution for the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees to their homeland.
He pointed out that the wave of racism that Syrian refugees were exposed to in Türkiye It contributed to strengthening European fears of an increase in the flow of migrants.
In contrast, Leslie Farren stressed that it is not only about immigration because “Syria is still an important country and given the current tensions in the region, The Middle EastIt has become difficult to do without her, especially since she only has relationships with Iran andRussia andChina The West feels they have to catch up.”
Asked whether this European approach would strengthen the Syrian regime politically, Farin explained that in both cases, President Bashar al-Assad is still in power, the war is ongoing, and all indications are that he has somehow won, despite the sanctions that have been strangling the country for 13 years.
At the same time, she does not believe that there will be any tangible development in this issue, except for establishing bilateral relations as Italy did when it renewed its diplomatic relations with Syria and sent its ambassador there, because the sanctions imposed on the country are mainly turning against the Syrian people and there is no change in the tragic situation they are living in.
Conflict of interest
It can be said that this European rush to restore relations with Syria comes within a series of previous rapprochements with the Assad regime after the return of… Damascus Officially to Arab League After an absence of 12 years, the Syrian President sets a date to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan Known for his support of the opposition for years.
As for the policy of European countries, Abdul Ghani believes that they “know very well that Assad is a war criminal, but they want to restore bilateral relations partly because of immigration and other reasons, such as reducing the arrival of drugs.”Captagon“To Italy, which was originated by the Syrian regime.”
Knowing that the Jordanian experience was clear in this regard because the export of drugs did not stop despite the rapprochement between the two countries, except through the arrest of hundreds of smugglers and drug networks, he added.
German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer announced – at a press conference in Berlin – his country's opposition to the document, stressing that “the Syrian regime is currently obstructing any progress in the political process in accordance with the resolution.” Security Council Subordinate toto the united nations Number 2254 He continues to commit the most serious human rights crimes against his own people, and as long as this is the case, there can be no pursuit of normalization of relations.”
In contrast, Germany's highest administrative court ruled in late July that “there is no longer a general danger to all civilians from the long-running conflict in Syria.”
On the other hand, Farin believes that the European countries seek through the document to “not allow the Turkish president to be the master of the game because the European Union gives him huge sums of money to prevent the flow of immigration. Although these countries have distanced themselves from the conflicts of the Middle East and do not care much about what is happening in Gaza Strip andYemen andIraq Syria, it realizes the importance of exchanging information with Syria, especially in the war against terrorism.
Given the importance of Israel toFrance andGermany President European Commission Ursula von der LeyenThe spokeswoman does not rule out opposition to the European rush towards Syria because “the Israelis do not want this normalization, and this makes us expect that this decision will not pass within the European Union and that the document will ultimately be banned.”
