Meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the situation in Syria, in the EP in Brussels. Statements by&nbsp;Staffan de MISTURA, United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria.

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Brussels

exchange of views

EU - Syria (T)

situation of Syrian refugees (T)

de MISTURA, Staffan (IT)

Situation in Syria: extracts from the exchange of views with Staffan de MISTURA, United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria at the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Atmosphere before the exchange of views, (3 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, "There are 2 new factors, one is the search, the movement, the activities in Iraq and Syria of ISIS, Daesh and the other one had been the military action led through a coalition to counter that. These new factors hopefully, paradoxically should have been and should be and we hope will help in making sure that everyone is recognizing that the conflict in Syria has been helping the action movement of Daesh, because there has been a vacuum and therefore producing an area for this. In the fact there is no military solution and we need to try to find a political solution."

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, "Let's focus on 3 areas: 1.Anything that we can do to reduce the violence, since we have seen the figures, because the people of Syria are asking for that, they are saying in Arabic, 'enough', we can't sustain this anymore. Secondly, anything that we can do to increase the Humanitarian aid for the people of Syria at this time, after four years, when they are cornered between the 2, 3 and 4 sides. And whatever happens, they become the actual physical victim on one thing and unwillingly. And if that produces any space for a political horizon, for a political dialogue we should jump on it and push it."

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, (On Aleppo - should become iconic as Kobane): "We are talking about Aleppo as a freeze, a stopping of the heavy barrel bombing, aerial bombing and rockets and mortals on the other side, which had been indiscriminating."

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, "The biggest problem in this conflict is a lack of trust frankly by anyone about anyone and no one is being trusted by anyone. I hope there will be a moment that we will be able to have a discussion about the fact that this conflict cannot be won neither by Assad nor by the opposition."

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, "If we had been able and I was not there and I cannot tell why we didn't, to push for a political solution quickly, then there would have be no Daesh or ISIS, there would have not been such an infiltration of foreign fighters from all sides on both sides involved in this conflict, making it now terribly difficult to negotiate Aleppo. If you want to negotiate in Aleppo you have to negotiate with 18 groups, not with 2 or 3."

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, "The biggest mistake was to dismantle the institutions, the army. Some of those who are leading today Daesh are ex-military from the Iraqi Republican Gard, so the secret, which is recognized by everyone in the Geneva communiqu&eacute; is that whatever will happen in Syria, the institutions, including the army need to be protected and maintained in order to make sure that there is no collapse, as we saw it in Iraq, in a way we saw it even worse in Libya."