The EU has “looked away” from the years-long conflict in Syria, veteran German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger said Saturday as he suggested the bloc should develop a peace plan for the region.
Ischinger, who chairs the Munich Security Conference, a major foreign and security policy fixture, slammed the bloc for limiting its actions to “helpless verbal appeals.”
His remarks on Twitter followed this week’s op-ed by 14 European foreign ministers on the conflict in the northern region of Idlib, which further escalated Thursday.
Ischinger applauded the op-ed but asked, “Why have we — the EU — looked away as the Syrian tragedy developed over the last nine years? Why not one effort to present an EU peace plan, why only helpless verbal appeals?”
“Non-action also produces guilt!” he wrote.
I repeat: why have we -the #EU – looked away as the Syrian tragedy developed over the last 9 years? Why not one effort to present an #EU peace plan, why only helpless verbal appeals? What about defending the interests of 500 mio Europeans? And: Non-action also produces guilt! https://t.co/Qog3OgupLP
— Wolfgang Ischinger (@ischinger) February 29, 2020