The chances for a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis are increasing
10 September 2013 News
The chance for a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis has been a valid option earlier and is even stronger at the present moment. The European position, as agreed in Vilnius two days ago, coincided to a great extent with the previously announced Bulgarian position. European Union urged not to resort to military strikes before the results of the UN investigation in Syria are released and not before the UN Security Council makes at least one other attempt to address this specific case, not necessarily by military means. This was announced by Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin in the morning show of TV7.
According to him, the focus now is on the control of chemical weapons and how the international community will prevent their further use. Vigenin expressed hope that the yesterdays’ agreement of Syrian Foreign Minister to put chemical weapons stockpiles under international control will enter into force. According to Minister Vigenin, handing over the stock of chemical weapons would be an important step to averting a potential U.S. military strike. “Ultimately, this is the result of huge efforts of the U.S. to provoke an international response to the use of chemical weapons as something absolutely unacceptable in the 21st century. But the agreement to surrender chemical weapons itself does not necessarily mean that such will be applied, we have to wait further developments of the situation,” Vigenin said. In his words, it all depends on the specific commitments to be undertaken by Syria and eventually - how the U.S. and Russia could become guarantors of such move. According to the Foreign Minister, if chemical weapons are handed over to the UN, the implementation of peaceful transition in the country may be considered. "Bulgaria as a member of the EU and NATO, and as part of the democratic world stands behind the values in which we ourselves believe and we consider that they must be also respected in other parts of the world. Therefore, we support the position of the United States and other countries that the use of chemical weapons should not remain without consequences." Kristian Vigenin said.
Minister Vigenin stressed that in case there is a military operation, it should be with a UN Security Council mandate. "Bulgaria will not participate in any military operation, and will not be included in the "Coalition of the Willing," he said, adding that the decision depends on the National Assembly.
Kristian Vigenin expressed hope that the current crisis could unlock options for finding a general solution to the problems in Syria. "We have interest in this because a peaceful Syria will help us deal with our concerns about a possible influx of refugees," he said.
Foreign Minister described the proposals to close the border with Turkey as “too extreme” measure that can be taken only if the situation becomes too difficult to control. He assured that during the past few weeks there was a very active preparation for dealing with a possible wave of refugees. "Compared with the number of refugees in Turkey and Lebanon, for example, our situation is not dramatic, but we must be prepared for a significant flow of refugees and currently we take the necessary steps in this endeavor," he said.
There are upcoming talks with Turkey on how to tighten border controls. In addition to these measures, Bulgaria has provided nearly € 400,000 so far to help refugees in the neighboring countries of Syria. The purpose of these funds is to help provide the necessary conditions in refugee camps, so that Syrians can wait there for stabilizing the situation and returning to their homeland, Vigenin said.
The Foreign Minister reiterated the recommendation to Bulgarian citizens in Syria to leave the country as soon as possible. In most cases those are people from mixed marriages. Our Embassy in Lebanon was contacted by around 15-20 people with questions about a possible evacuation. According to the Minister, our mission in Beirut is in constant touch with them and we are ready for evacuation from Lebanon, if necessary.