Head of the European Union Mission to Syria, Dan Stoinescu, said that the EU’s policy towards the Assad regime is consistent, stressing that the sanctions imposed on it will continue
In an exclusive interview with Syria TV, he added that EU countries agree that they will not participate in the reconstruction process sought by the regime to pressure him to engage in the political process “honestly.”
The head of the mission stated that the European policy towards the regime will not change “except in one case, which is when the regime in Damascus sincerely opens up about making real change and progress in the issue of the political process.”
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He noted that the same point had been made by the UN envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen. He said the international community would seek to pressure the regime to participate more seriously in the process of political dialogue “in order to improve the living situation of the Syrians, who have suffered so much because of the conflict.”
At the two-day “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” conference in Brussels, Stoenescu said he had achieved real success by “raising a lot of money allocated to the Syrian people as aid, as well as bringing together international political forces that support Syrians away from any pressure.”
The Brussels 6 conference ended on Tuesday, with donor countries pledging 6.4 billion euros ($6.7 billion) to the Syrian people.
According to the conference’s final statement, the bulk of the amount (4.3 billion euros) will be raised this year, while the remaining 2.4 billion euros will be presented next year in 2023.
