Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-25-Speech-3-292"
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"en.20061025.25.3-292"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, Madam President-in-Office of the Council, we have to be clear in our own minds about the fact that the crisis in the Middle East – not only where Lebanon is concerned, but also the Middle East problem as a whole – is capable of resolution only if Syria is brought on board, for it, at present, maintains links with Iran and Hizbollah, and thought must be given to how, if at all, these links can be dismantled, and in such a manner that it is in Syria’s interests. Syria is a Sunni and secular state, with relatively little in common, ideologically speaking, with Shiite fundamentalists.
This is what would make it possible for us to make use of an association agreement, provided that improvements are made in the observance of human rights and a solution found to the question of how we and it can join together in combating terrorism. What is certain is that supplies of weapons to the Lebanon cannot be wholly stopped without Syria’s consent, and that must be seen to be a factor. Such a solution is also conditional upon the problem of the Shebaa farms being resolved. That is of the utmost importance if Hizbollah are to be denied the excuse that they need to have weapons in the area, since it is Israeli-occupied territory. For all these reasons, both the situation within Syria and that country’s relations with the European Union need to be improved.
The initiative on the part of the Mrs De Keyser and the Committee on Foreign Affairs – of which, it is my impression, both the Council and the Commission take a sympathetic view – makes an important contribution towards Syria being offered the opportunity to secure its own interests and thereby make a constructive contribution to the peace process in the region. It is evident that the Syrian regime is no friend of democracy, that it violates human rights, that people – both Syrians and others – must be set at liberty and that a stop must be put to the cooperation with the military arms of Hizbollah and Hamas; even so, I do believe that a dialogue of this kind is possible and that the offer of an association agreement, within this framework, can be an effective means to that end."@en1
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