French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
France's foreign minister said on Wednesday that the indiscriminate bombing by Russian, Syrian and Iranian forces in Syria's Idlib region could amount to war crimes.
"The hypothesis of war crimes can not be excluded ... once one begins to indiscriminately bomb civilian populations and hospitals," Jean-Yves Le Drian told lawmakers.
He also said that efforts should be made immediately to prepare for a mass humanitarian crisis should thousands of people be displaced by the fighting.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday Germany could not simply look away if chemical attacks took place in Syria, two days after her government said it was in talks with its allies about a possible military deployment in the war-torn country.The conservative leader said Germany's could not just reject military intervention, a direct rebuke of her Social Democratic coalition partners, who have rejected participation in military action against Syria."It cannot be the German position to simply say 'no', no matter what happens in the world," she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament.Germany, the world's fourth largest economy, is under pressure from the United States to boost military spending and shoulder more responsibility within NATO. It did not participate in military strikes carried out by U.S., French and British forces on Syria in April after a chemical weapons attack.UK 'strongly' agrees with Turkey's Erdoğan on IdlibBut Merkel and her conservatives must win over the more pacifist Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in the ruling coalition, and overcome massive public opposition to Germany's participation in military combat missions.SPD leader Andrea Nahles on Wednesday told lawmakers her party would not agree to military intervention in Syria unless the United Nations authorised such action.Combat missions remain a sensitive topic in Germany, given its Nazi past. Participation in any air strikes in Syria would also put Germany on a collision course with Russia, the main backer of President Bashar al-Assad.Seventy-four percent of Germans oppose participation in a military intervention in the event of another chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government, according to a new poll by Die Welt newspaper that was published Wednesday.UN chief says 'essential' to avoid Idlib 'bloodbath'US rips Russia, Iran, Assad regime amid Idlib offensiveMerkel calls for European solidarity to tackle illegal migrationGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to European Union members to show solidarity to ensure the Frontex border agency has sufficient powers to be effective and help stop illegal migration, in line with European Commission plans."The question of fighting illegal migration means we have to strengthen external border protection ... that means also that the countries with an external border must give up some of their national responsibilities," Merkel told parliament on Wednesday."That requires a degree of solidarity, it is about people coming to us or our duty to make legal migration possible to help countries that are in trouble," she added.Nearly 600 irregular migrants held across TurkeyAnti-immigration party set for election gains as Sweden swings rightMerkel condemns far-right violence in eastern GermanyChancellor Merkel also condemned recent far-right violence in eastern Germany and called for stronger efforts to strengthen peaceful coexistence in Germany.“Jews, Muslims belong to our society, just like Christians and atheists,” Merkel said.She denounced violence by far-right extremists in several eastern German cities in recent weeks, following reports of murder and other crimes allegedly perpetrated by foreigners.“There can be no excuse or justification for tracking people down, using violence, chanting Nazi slogans and displaying hostility on people who look different,” she stressed.Far-right groups organized various rallies in eastern cities of Chemnitz and Koethen in recent weeks, where mobs hunted down foreign-looking people on the streets and attacked restaurants owned by Jews or other migrants.
Germany can't look away if Syria uses chemical weapons: Merkel
Europe must remain tolerant to avoid atrocities such as the "impending humanitarian disaster" in Syria's Idlib province, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday.Delivering his final State of the Union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Juncker said, "Europe must remain a tolerant continent... it will never become a fortress, turning its back on the world.""Take a look around. What is happening in Idlib in Syria now must be of deep and direct concern to us all. We cannotremain silent in face of this impending humanitarian disaster -- which appears now all but inevitable," he said, adding:"The conflict in Syria is a case in point for how the international order that served Europeans so well after the SecondWorld War is being increasingly called into question."UK 'strongly' agrees with Turkey's Erdoğan on IdlibUN chief says 'essential' to avoid Idlib 'bloodbath'Addressing the Balkan EU accession issue, Juncker said the EU still needs a "forthright attitude" noting that EU enlargement is and remains a "success story"."We must find unity when it comes to the Western Balkans... Should we not, our immediate neighborhood will be shaped by others."The Luxembourg politician told MEPs that the EU must respond to the "many", not the "few".Juncker said EU member states must remove any borders they have thrown up during migration crisis.He also revealed a new EU alliance with Africa that could create 10 million jobs in Africa in the next five years.He said Europe should "stop seeing the African-EU relationship from the sole prism of development aid."He added that "such an approach is humiliating for Africa. Africa does not need charity, it needs a true and balanced partnership and Europe needs this just as much."As for Brexit, Juncker said the EU "respects the British decision to leave our union, even though we continue to regret it deeply. But we also ask the British government to understand someone who leaves the union cannot be of the same privileged position.""If you leave the Union, you of course, are no longer a part of our single market. And certainly no longer just parts of it.""After 29 March 2019, the United Kingdom will never be an ordinary third country for us. The United Kingdom will always be a very close neighbour and partner, in political, economic and security terms," Juncker said.Juncker called the EU members "to say No to unhealthy nationalism and Yes to patriotism," saying, "unchecked nationalism is riddled with poison and deceit".Juncker sent a positive signal on May's Brexit proposal, known as the "Chequers" plan for the country residence where it was hammered out in July. It calls for Britain to stay in a free trade zone with the EU for goods, opposed at home by both supporters of closer ties and those who want a cleaner break."I welcome Prime Minister May's proposal to develop an ambitious new partnership for the future, after Brexit. We agree with the statement made in Chequers that the starting point for such a partnership should be a free trade area between the United Kingdom and the European Union," Juncker said.About 50 Conservative lawmakers discuss ousting UK PM May'Wrong Brexit deal will cost thousands of jobs'Juncker seeks bigger global role for euroEuropean Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called on Wednesday for the European Union to promote the euro as a global currency to challenge the U.S. dollar."We must do more to allow our single currency to play its full role on the international scene," Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg as he presented his annual programme."It is absurd that Europe pays for 80 percent of its energy import bill – worth 300 billion euros a year – in U.S. dollars when only roughly 2 percent of our energy imports come from the United States," he said."It is absurd that European companies buy European planes in dollars instead of euro," he added.While Norway prices its substantial supplies to the EU in euros, an EU official said, other countries use dollars. Among the most important of these are Gulf states and Russia."The euro must become the face and the instrument of a new, more sovereign Europe," Juncker said, as he called for the bloc to become more of a global player and exert more influence internationally with a unified stance.European Commission calls end to seasonal clock changeJuncker also proposed to end seasonal clock changes in the EU starting next year."We all say in soap-box speeches that we want to be big on big things and small on small things. But there is no applause when EU law dictates that Europeans have to change the clocks twice a year," he was quoted as saying in a statement."Clock-changing must stop. Member states should themselves decide whether their citizens live in summer or wintertime", he added.Violeta Bulc, the commissioner for transport, said in the statement that the Commission is proposing to put an end to seasonal clock changes as of next year.Last month, the Commission published the results of an online public survey on clock change in Europe -- showing nearly 85 percent of the Europeans are in favor of putting an end to the bi-annual clock change.The Commission's proposal will go to the European Parliament and the Council for their agreement.
Juncker warns EU of 'humanitarian disaster' in Idlib
The UK's UN ambassador "strongly" agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday amid a mounting offensive on northwestern Syria's Idlib province.“We strongly agree with President Erdogan,” Karen Pierce told the UN Security Council citing an op-ed penned by Erdoğan.Erdogan on Monday said in the Wall Street Journal: “All members of the international community must understand their responsibilities as the assault on Idlib looms. The consequences of inaction are immense.”“A regime assault [in Idlib] would also create serious humanitarian and security risks for Turkey, the rest of Europe and beyond,” he added.UN chief says 'essential' to avoid Idlib 'bloodbath'US rips Russia, Iran, Assad regime amid Idlib offensiveHe noted the regime's criminal acts -- arbitrary arrests, systematic torture, summary executions, barrel bombs, chemical and conventional weapons -- which targeted Syrians for seven years."As a result of the Syrian civil war, which the United Nations Human Rights Council calls ‘the worst man-made disaster since World War II’, millions of innocent people have become refugees or have been internally displaced," he said.He also noted Turkey's role in protecting the Syrian people, as it hosts the largest number of refugees in the world at 3.5 million.Pierce said the council faces "a choice", between a Syrian regime and Russian "military assault on Idlib in which, as many colleagues have said today, thousands of civilians will die," or "we allow Turkey and opposition groups the support, space and time to separate out the terrorists and tackle them themselves."Turkey has a plan, Madam President, in Idlib and it does involve reaching an agreement with the Syrian opposition whereby the regime refrains from attacking them while they combat terrorism," she said referring to Nikki Haley, the U.S.'s UN envoy and council president."This is what we should be discussing today, Madam President, but I think it has been absent from the briefing we received from Russia just now," Pierce added.Haley further blamed Russia and the regime for allegedly carrying out more than 100 airstrikes, some of which she said were "ruthless double tap" strikes targeting first responders.“It is a disgusting tactic of terrorists, not professional soldiers,” she said.She alleged Moscow, Tehran and Damascus are not interested in pursuing a political solution to the Syrian crisis, saying “Turkey learned this lesson last week” during trilateral talks in the Iranian capital.“The United States is long past taking Russia and Iran at their word that they are interested in protecting civilians in Idlib from further violence," she said. "If Assad, Russia, and Iran continue down the path they are on, the consequences will be dire. The world will hold them responsible. And no number of Security Council meetings will ever change that.”The UN warned Monday at least 30,000 residents in Idlib have been displaced in the first nine days this month amid the Russian and regime air campaign there.
UK 'strongly' agrees with Turkey's Erdoğan on Idlib