EU calls on Astana parties to put end to conflict, protect civilians in northern Syria

The European Union (EU) has called on Astana guarantors including Turkey to make intensified efforts “to put an end to the conflict, protect the civilians and to ensure unhindered humanitarian aid” in northern Syria.

Maja Kocijančič, the spokesperson for the EU Commission, said on Monday that “renewed armed hostilities in the northeast will not only exacerbate civilian suffering and lead to massive displacement but will also risk severely undermining current political efforts.”

Kocijancic said the EU remains committed to Syria’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and that a long-term solution to the conflict will not be reached through military means but requires a genuine political transition.

The EU understands the legitimate security concerns of Turkey, a long-term solution to the conflict will not be reached through military means, but requires a genuine political transition.

According to the Daily Mail, US forces had started to withdraw from parts of northern Syria to make way for a Turkish invasion in the region after Donald Trump agreed to let Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan launch his long-planned offensive.