EU to Keep Envoy in Syria, Paris Says No Plans for Military Intervention
The European Union ambassador to Syria is to remain in Damascus despite an Italian proposal Tuesday to recall all ambassadors from the 27 EU nations.
"Our ambassador will remain in Damascus to observe what's happening on the ground," said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The EU delegation in Syria is headed by Greek-born Ambassador Vassilis Bontosoglou, a longtime EU official specialized in trade and Asian affairs who was accredited to the Damascus office in 2007.
Italy earlier Tuesday announced the recall of its ambassador for consultation due to the "horrible repression" and proposed that "all ambassadors from countries within the European Union be recalled", the foreign ministry said in Rome.
Ashton's spokesman said however "that we have not heard of this being taken any wider".
Meanwhile, France said Tuesday that the international community's position on Syria's deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters did not include any plans for a Libya-style military intervention to halt the bloodshed.
"The situations in Libya and Syria are not similar" and "no option of a military nature is planned," foreign ministry spokeswoman Christine Fages told reporters, without elaborating on how the situations differed.
She was responding to a question about whether the situation in Libya, where NATO is conducting air strikes against Moammar Gadhafi's forces as part of a United Nations mandate to protect civilians, might be repeated in Syria.
Britain, France, Germany and Portugal were hoping to revive their push for a formal resolution from the U.N. Security Council when it meets Tuesday for a second day of talks on Syria.
They want the council to condemn Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown. But diplomats said that it was more likely the council would instead agree on a simple statement, with no warning of U.N. action.
Russia and China have threatened to veto any formal resolution against Assad.
A top U.N. official said Monday that on top of 140 people reported killed in a military offensive on Sunday, 3,000 people have gone missing and 12,000 been taken prisoner since the anti-regime protests erupted in mid-March.
More than 1,600 civilians and 369 members of the army and security forces have been killed since March 15 in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/11818 |