European Council President Herman Van Rompuy says only a diplomatic solution could end the “terrible bloodshed” in Syria, and military strike would not resolve the crisis, putting the EU at odds with President Obama.
Europe’s top officials warned against a military response in Syria on Thursday, aligning themselves more closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin than President Barack Obama in how best to respond to the chemical attack in the Syrian civil war.
While describing the Aug. 21 attack near Damascus, in which an estimated 1,400 people died, as “abhorrent” and a crime against humanity, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said a military strike would not help resolve the crisis.
“There is no military solution to the Syrian conflict,” Van Rompuy told reporters ahead of a summit of the Group of 20 countries this week in St Petersburg, when the 2-1/2-year-old conflict in Syria is expected to dominate debate along with discussion on the global economy.
“Only a political solution can end the terrible bloodshed, grave violations of human rights and the far-reaching destruction of Syria,” Van Rompuy said.
“While respecting the recent calls for action, we underscore at the same time the need to move forward with addressing the Syrian crisis through the UN process.”
His position, supported by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, would appear to set the European Union at odds with the United States, since Obama has said he is prepared to launch military strikes once he has approval from the US Congress, where votes are expected next week.
It also suggests internal divisions within the European Union. France, which with Britain is the most influential of the EU’s 28 member states on foreign policy, has said it will support any military action taken by Washington.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was also keen to support military intervention, but he lost a parliamentary vote on the issue last week and Britain will not take part.
EUROPEAN CAUTIONThe position set out by Van Rompuy and Barroso effectively calls for the international community to work through the United Nations in determining the response to Syrian President Bashar Assad and his government.
That is not dissimilar to the line adopted by Putin, a firm ally of Assad, who has condemned the US rush to action and goaded US officials for the mistakes made in the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Putin has also accused NATO of exceeding the bounds of a 2011 UN mandate for intervention in Libya.
