European Union Insists on Its Three ‘Noes’ in Syria

Josep Borrell. EPA
Josep Borrell. EPA
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European Union Insists on Its Three ‘Noes’ in Syria

Josep Borrell. EPA
Josep Borrell. EPA

The European Union has reconfirmed rejection to normalization with the Syrian regime, to reconstruction and to lifting of sanctions until a political solution in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254 is firmly underway.

“Yesterday marked 11 years since the beginning of the tragic and bloody conflict in Syria,” said High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

“Unfortunately, the conflict continues still today, and the humanitarian needs are at their highest with 14.6 million Syrian people in need of assistance inside and outside of the country. Syrian refugees constitute the largest displacement crisis in the world with 5.7 million registered refugees. Another 6.9 million Syrian nationals are displaced within Syria.”

He went on saying that “the Syrian people remain a priority for the European Union. The international community must keep up the search for a durable and comprehensible political solution in Syria, and the European Union remains fully committed to this goal.”

“At their meeting with UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen at the Foreign Affairs Council on 24 January, EU Foreign Ministers restated their unity and reconfirmed the EU’s position: no normalization with the Syrian regime, no reconstruction and no lifting of sanctions until a political solution in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254 is firmly underway.

At the same time, the European Union continues to support the efforts of UN Special Envoy Pedersen, including his “steps-for-steps” approach, and remains committed to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian state.”

Borrell noted that on 10 May, “the European Union will co-chair with the UN a sixth Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the region, with the participation of governments, international organizations and Syrian civil society.”

The European Union and its Member States remain the largest provider of international aid and deliver humanitarian, stabilization, and resilience assistance inside Syria and in neighboring countries.

Last year the EU as a whole pledged €3.7 billion in total for 2021 and beyond. Since 2011, the EU and its Member States have mobilized over €25 billion for the conflict in Syria, according to Borrell.

“Eleven years have passed on the US-backed terrorist aggression on Syria that mainly aimed to obstruct its economic development, shed blood of Syrian youths and destroy its achievements and infrastructure,” SANA reported, citing Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

On Wednesday, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America released a joint statement on the occasion of the 11-year anniversary of the beginning of the Syrian conflict.

“It is past time for the regime and its enablers, including Russia and Iran, to halt their ruthless attack on the Syrian people,” the statement read.

“The coincidence of this year’s anniversary with the appalling Russian aggression against Ukraine” they said, “highlights Russia’s brutal and destructive behavior in both conflicts.”

“We do not support efforts to normalize relations with the Assad regime and will not normalize relations ourselves, nor lift sanctions or fund reconstruction until there is irreversible progress towards a political solution.

We encourage all parties, especially the Syrian regime, to participate in the March 21 meeting of the Constitutional Committee in good faith and call for the Committee to deliver on its mandate.”



Kurdistan Salary Crisis Clouds Eid Celebrations in Baghdad

Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
TT
20

Kurdistan Salary Crisis Clouds Eid Celebrations in Baghdad

Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)

The festivity of Eid al-Adha in Baghdad was overshadowed by growing political tensions, particularly over the unresolved salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region.

While Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani opted for a neutral gesture - issuing a general holiday greeting and performing Eid prayers without comment - other political leaders used the occasion to speak pointedly about the nation’s deepening challenges.

Al-Sudani attended Eid prayers at Al-Rasoul Mosque in the capital, choosing to remain silent on political matters. However, influential Shiite cleric and head of the Hikma Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali both delivered speeches that touched on the country’s fraught political and economic landscape.

Al-Hakim warned against the use of political money in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 11, 2025.

Calling the vote “historic,” he emphasized the need for electoral integrity and urged political blocs to adopt a national code of conduct barring the use of illicit funds. “There is talk of a market where candidates and voters are being bought. This is corruption and betrayal of the people,” he said.

He also addressed Iraq’s perennial electricity crisis, calling for a “strategic state of emergency” to resolve the issue once and for all. “Despite changing governments and large budgets, the same problems repeat themselves,” he noted.

Al-Hakim stressed the need for governments to define clear priorities, including agriculture, water, and clean energy, and said Iraqis “deserve a dignified life that begins with stable electricity and ends with technological advancement.”

Khazali, meanwhile, focused his remarks on the Kurdistan Region salary crisis, criticizing accusations from Kurdish media that he was responsible for the federal government’s suspension of public sector salaries in the region. “It’s simply not true,” he said. “Unfortunately, salaries remain unpaid to this day.”

He stressed that despite Iraq’s wealth, the country continues to suffer from poverty and unemployment, and argued that the roots of these issues lie in the legacy of the former Ba’ath regime.

Khazali also pointed out that Kurdistan experiences higher poverty rates than the rest of Iraq, and that many Iraqi refugees abroad are from the region.

Turning to the electricity crisis, he warned this summer could be the most difficult in years, as outages are expected to worsen. “All past governments focused on increasing output but ignored the need to instill a culture of energy conservation,” he said, warning that some groups may seek to exploit the crisis to sow internal unrest.