Israeli raids, chemical weapons… Rasmussen saw nothing, heard nothing
(BRUSSELS2) Media and European day for NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen this Monday (6 May): with his monthly press conference at the start of the afternoon (at the Residence Palace) and an intervention before the committee Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. The main subject of these two speeches was the EU/NATO relationship, with a view to the December European Council devoted to Defense (B2 will come back to this). But the subject that occupied the minds of journalists and parliamentarians was obviously elsewhere: the situation in Syria.
NATO knows next to nothing...
First asked about the Israeli raids on Syria, Rasmussen, is content to repeat " I am aware of what the press reports but I have no indication that such operations took place in the area where the Patriot missiles are deployed (Turkish-Syrian border) “before adding that he has” no more information " and " we are focused on protecting Turkey”.
Regarding the use of chemical weapons, the Secretary General acknowledges that: Yes, we have indications that chemical weapons may have been used ". But - he adds -, "we do not however have details on the circumstances and on who used these weapons ". On the assertion of Carla del Ponte, a member of the UN Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations who denounced " according to the testimonies collected » use by "rebels (of) chemical weapons, using sarin gas », NATO wants to be circumspect. Rasmussen kicked into touch, explaining that " no matter who used these weapons, it represents a violation of international law », preferring to ask that the « United Nations can investigate " on this topic.
No military intervention
« NATO does not intend to intervene militarily declared Ramussen in front of the parliamentarians before explaining I am often reminded of the success in Libya and asked why we don't do the same in Syria. There is a very clear difference since in Libya there was a United Nations mandate. Syria is a much more complex society and external interventions could have impacts on the region that cannot be predicted. ". Arguments (destabilize, complexity) that hide, in fact, a reality: the Russian blockage in the Security Council.
An international political solution
« Only a political solution is possible in Syria finally recalls Anders Fogh Rasmussen, pleading that “ the international community is stepping up its efforts to find a solution ". He is " important that the international community send a single and strong message to Damascus. For the moment this is not the case » before asking that we rely on « the action group on Syria which declared in June 2012 that the regime in Damascus should begin a process of transition which would respond to the political aspirations of the Syrian people " and " that a political solution could be based on this ". The questions will be many. But the answers will not vary one iota...
Comments (NGV): Beyond discretion and diplomatic slander, the position of the Secretary General of NATO shows that the situation seems more blocked than ever. Even though more and more voices arise to indicate that chemical weapons have "probably" been used, as and when this possibility seems to be supported, the main political leaders seek to deny its use, fearing above all to admit that the famous "red line", fixed by Obama for a reply - also taken up by several European leaders (such as Laurent Fabius) - was overcome, an intervention which would have, in any case, a very fragile international legal basis...
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