Press Release

Syrian Coalition

March 17, 2015

The Syrian National Coalition welcomes the 16 March Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions on Syria and a new EU strategy in response to the deteriorating situation in the region. The Coalition is grateful for the full support of European partners to establish a peaceful, democratic Syria free of the tyranny of Bashar al Assad and the terror of ISIL. As set out clearly by EU Foreign Ministers, it is the brutality of the Assad regime which has created the insecurity and ungoverned space in Syria which extremists such as ISIL now exploit.

The EU sent a strong message of support for a political track based on the Geneva Communique process – a process that leads towards a future Syria without Assad and his illegitimate regime. In order to create the necessary conditions for a viable political process, EU Foreign Ministers made clear the need for increased pressure on Assad and his supporters, while in parallel pushing for accountability and a referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court.

Commenting on the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, the Syrian National Coalition’s Representative to the Benelux and the EU, Mouaffaq Nyrabia, said:

“I thank the European Union for its support to the Syrian people. As the crisis enters its fifth year – with over 12 million Syrians in need and 3.8 million refugees – the generosity provided by the EU has saved the lives of many Syrians. However these efforts – despite their importance – only deal with the symptoms of the worst humanitarian crisis in our lifetime. The situation in Syria requires a new and revived comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of what is now an international crisis which goes beyond the borders of my country.

"As a first step the Syrian National Coalition urgently calls on our international partners to protect ordinary Syrians from Assad’s air force which rains terror across Syria. The ways and means are in place. We now call on our partners to show the will and conviction to Syrians that the world has not given up on them. Alternative solutions are almost unimaginable now but will soon become unavoidable, inevitably leading to another ground invasion in the Middle East without a new approach. The international community has a small window of opportunity to seize this momentum and move forward on difficult but necessary choices to save Syria from tyranny and the terrorists.”