President of the opposition Syrian National Coalition Anas al-Abdah has called on the European Union to play a more active role in Syria to help secure a political settlement to the five-year war.
Abdah’s comments came during a joint press conference with head of the European parliament’s foreign affairs committee Elmar Brok on Tuesday, where the opposition leader thanked the EU for its support towards the Syrian people over the last five years.
For his part, Brok said that the EU strongly supports a road map for a peaceful solution in Syria in order to build a country on democracy, the rule of law and human rights. He expressed hope that the current ceasefire will hold so that conflicting sides could continue negotiations.
"We in the European Union are ready to support that, and I think that the Europeans should take more responsibility then because this is our neighborhood and this is in our interest."
The top EU official also called for coordinated efforts by European countries to increase support for Syrian refugees.
Earlier on Monday, Abdah held meetings with a number of EU officials in Brussels, including the EU Foreign Policy Cheif Federica Mogherini, during which he announced that the Assad regime is seeking to undermine the current truce and, consequently, the whole political process.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
