Meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)&nbsp;jointly with the&nbsp;Committee on Development&nbsp;(DEVE) on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, in the EP in Brussels. Exchange of views with Elmar BROK (EPP, DE), Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, Staffan de MISTURA, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Stephen O'BRIEN, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and&nbsp;Linda McAVAN (S&amp;D, UK), Chair of Development Committee.

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Brussels

exchange of views

EU - Syria (T)

BROK, Elmar (EPP, DE)

Committee on Development

joint meeting

McAVAN, Linda (S&D, UK)

de MISTURA, Staffan (IT)

Political and humanitarian situation in Syria: extracts from the exchange of views on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria with Staffan de MISTURA and Stephen O'BRIEN

SOUNDBITE (German), Elmar BROK (EPP, DE), Chair Foreign Affairs Committee, Do you still see any chances for a peace process or has Russia and Assad decide to apply a military solution ending the peace process? What consequences would that have for reconciliation within the country and the cohesion of the country?

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, UN Special Envoy for Syria, The perception we are having at the moment is that while everybody is claiming and will continue claiming, because it is politically correct to say so, that there is only a political solution, there is clearly an acceleration with a military outcome, which then can in a way be packaged into a political framework.

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Where rare we today? Well, you will hear the humanitarian situation, and clearly I cannot deny, this is a military acceleration. And I can't tell you how long eastern Aleppo will last. The latest informations are quite in movement. In other words, there is a constant increase of movement on the military side.

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, UN Special Envoy for Syria, President TRUMP-elect: We can't say what will be his policy, neither can you, we don't have even yet who is the actual Secretary of State. But he has made some statements. Based on those statements, we have an idea that he intends to give total, top priority to fighting Daesh. I don't think anyone in this Chamber, or in the streets particularly here in Brussels, or everywhere, will disagree with that, including me. Because if you talk to ap person in the street their priority is not having another of those horrible things at the airport.

SOUNDBITE (English), Staffan de MISTURA, UN Special Envoy for Syria, If you want to defeat DAESH, which is valid, we need still a political, inclusive formula for Syria, and that is when we will need to get involved. regardless of whether there is a military or non-military solution.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stephen O&apos;BRIEN, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Aleppo has become the apex of horror. At its most horrific extent of the suffering of the people. There are barely any functional hospitals left in eastern Aleppo to treat those who have escaped death. As all the hospitals have been bombed into oblivion. The entire city is affected by fighting, causing hundreds of civilian casualties. Airstrikes in the East and rockets and mortar attacks in the West of Aleppo, destroying civilian structures, forcing yet more people to flee for their safety.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stephen O'BRIEN, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Today, we estimate that a total of 974,080 people, nearly one million Syrians, are tonight, living under siege.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stephen O'BRIEN, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Civilians are being isolated and bombed and denied medical attention, and food and other humanitarian assistance, in order to force them to submit or to flee. It is a deliberate tactic of cruelty to compound people's suffering, for political, military and in some cases economic gain.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stephen O'BRIEN, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, The total number of refugees in Europe pales besides the millions that are being hosted in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. In Lebanon, more than a quarter of the population is now made up of Syrian refugees. The equivalent number of refugees in France or the UK would be 15-17 million people.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stephen O'BRIEN, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, We need to better fund the humanitarian response plans to Syria and the region. We need to urgently regain the momentum from earlier this year on protection and access. We need a cessation of all violence, and end to indiscriminate attacks that recklessly kill and injure civilians. We need all necessary action from the parties and their supporters to ensure the safe, sustained, unhindered, unconditional humanitarian access. And we need an immediate end to the medieval sieges. 

SOUNDBITE (English), Linda McAVAN (S&amp;D, UK), Chair Development Committee, We have also been very active on getting more humanitarian aid into education for children and young people, who are refugees because we know that they are in danger of loosing their entire childhoods and young years without and education. And there is a major conference here in Brussels tomorrow on that very issue. So thank you for these sobering thoughts, and I suppose the question is, what can we do now?