MEPs welcome efforts by Qatar and Jordan to broker solution to Syria crisis

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MEPs welcome efforts by Qatar and Jordan to broker solution to Syria crisis

02-03-2012

Members of the European Parliament have welcomed the efforts of both Qatar and Jordan, as key members of the Arab League, to broker a solution to the crisis in Syria, at a Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee meeting in Brussels on 1 March. They also praised the role played by the two countries in Libya.

Pressed for details of his strategy on Syria, the Qatari minister said the international community must intervene. He advocated sending a joint Arab League-United Nations peacekeeping force - with the emphasis on "peace-keeping” - to end the bloodbath and provide humanitarian assistance. He excluded a military option and wanted to see reform and democracy in Syria. His comments echoed those of the Jordanian foreign minister, Nasser Judeh, who told the committee on 29 February that a political solution must be found to end the violence and put Syria on the path to democracy.

MEPs also quizzed the Qatari and Jordanian foreign ministers on the Arab Awakening, the Iranian nuclear issue and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

MEPs praised both Qatar and Jordan for their internal reform efforts, pointing to the positive example they set to other countries in the region in the wake of the Arab spring. They nonetheless had a number of questions about human rights issues and civil liberties.

A number of MEPs raised the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, asking how the stalled peace process could be relaunched. Both the Qatari and the Jordanian ministers stressed that this conflict lay at the heart of all the conflicts in the Middle East. It was a ticking time bomb, Sheikh Hamad said, warning that Israel's neighbours were changing and Israel should take account of Arab public opinion. Mr Judeh agreed with MEPs that the Arab League and the International Quartet could and should work together to make the Quartet more effective.

To questions from the floor about Salaafist movements and the rise of Islamist governments in the Arab world and North Africa, the Qatari minister stressed that Salaafists were not terrorists and that Europe should not fear Islamist governments, per se. Governments that were democratically elected by the people must be respected. Mr Judeh pointed out that the Muslim Brotherhood had been present in Jordan for over 60 years and were represented in parliament. (ENPI Info Centre)

Read more

Press release

ENPI Info Centre – Syria: EU recognises National Council and warns it will collect evidence of atrocities (02-02-12)

ENPI Info Centre – Syria: Ashton appalled at brutal attacks in Homs

ENPI Info Centre – Ashton: deep regret as Russia and China veto UN resolution on Syria (06-02-12)

Factsheet - The European Union and Syria

European External Action Service – Frequently Asked Questions on EU restrictive measures against the Syrian regime

ENPI Info Centre webpage – Syria

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