Sarkozy: “Syria: a scandal. No action without a Security Council resolution” (Maj)

(BRUXELLES2, European summit) Asked about Syria at the end of the European Summit, the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy did not mince his words. " This is an extremely serious subject. What is happening is a scandal. We have more than 8000 dead, including hundreds of children. And the city of Homs threatens to be wiped off the map. It is absolutely unacceptable. (...) The Council condemned in the strongest terms what is happening. He reiterated France's traditional position, in particular the establishment of reception areas on the borders of Syria to be able to accommodate people who are persecuted by the Syrian regime. But to take it an "extra step", it is not " No way - according to him - to act directly or indirectly until the Security Council establishes the legal conditions (of this) extra notch, whether for the humanitarian zones (refugee reception), the possible delivery of weapons or the humanitarian corridors. “And to recall:” Each time we have intervened, whether in Côte d'Ivoire, Libya, Afghanistan or Lebanon, there has been prior deliberation by the Security Council. It is not possible for France to act without the authority at the international level having spoken. It is undoubtedly frustrating. We see the dead piling up. But it is essential”.

It should be noted that the Security Council today (March 2) adopted a declaration - according to the Quai d'Orsay - requiring the Syrian authorities to " guarantee immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to populations in need of assistance and to "authorize the movement" of Baroness Amos - the head of the United Nations office for humanitarian aid in Syria.

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