{"id":136171,"date":"2024-12-20T09:20:51","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T07:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/news\/eu-leaders-agree-key-principles-on-syria-but-caution-the-jury-is-still-out\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T09:20:51","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T07:20:51","slug":"eu-leaders-agree-key-principles-on-syria-but-caution-the-jury-is-still-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/news\/eu-leaders-agree-key-principles-on-syria-but-caution-the-jury-is-still-out\/","title":{"rendered":"EU leaders agree key principles on Syria but caution: \u2019The jury is still out\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mp_wrapper\">\n  <div class=\"mepr-unauthorized-message\">\n    <p>You are unauthorized to view this page.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mepr-login-form-wrap\">\n            \n<div class=\"mp_wrapper mp_login_form\">\n                  <!-- mp-login-form-start -->     <form name=\"mepr_loginform\" id=\"mepr_loginform\" class=\"mepr-form\" action=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/login-2\/\" method=\"post\" data-trp-original-action=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/login-2\/\">\n            <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_username\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n                              <label for=\"user_login\">Username<\/label>\n        <\/div>\n        <input type=\"text\" name=\"log\" id=\"user_login\" value=\"\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_password\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n          <label for=\"user_pass\">Password<\/label>\n          <div class=\"mp-hide-pw\">\n            <input type=\"password\" name=\"pwd\" id=\"user_pass\" value=\"\" \/>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"button mp-hide-pw hide-if-no-js\" data-toggle=\"0\" aria-label=\"Show password\">\n              <span class=\"dashicons dashicons-visibility\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n            <div>\n        <label><input name=\"rememberme\" type=\"checkbox\" id=\"rememberme\" value=\"forever\" \/> Remember Me<\/label>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n      <div class=\"submit\">\n        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"wp-submit\" id=\"wp-submit\" class=\"button-primary mepr-share-button\" value=\"Log In\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_to\" value=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136171\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_process_login_form\" value=\"true\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_is_login_page\" value=\"false\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n    <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"trp-form-language\" value=\"en\"\/><\/form>\n    <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n    <div class=\"mepr-login-actions\">\n        <a\n          href=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/login-2\/?action=forgot_password\"\n          title=\"Click here to reset your password\"\n        >\n          Forgot Password        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n\n      \n    <!-- mp-login-form-end --> \n  <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"smart_content_wrapper\">\n<p>The European Union has opened the door for sanctions relief on Syria after Assad&#8217;s fall but without providing a specific timeline. The leaders of the European Union agreed on Thursday on the key principles they will follow to normalise ties with Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad&#8217;s autocracy, with the caveat that &#8221;the jury is still out&#8221; on the rebels leading the transition.<\/p>\n<p>In their joint conclusions, the heads of state and government call for an &#8221;inclusive and Syrian-led political process&#8221; that will guarantee the country&#8217;s territorial integrity, national unity, protection of all religious and ethnic minorities and respect for human rights, while preventing the re-emergence of sectarian violence, extremism and terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>Leaders also stressed that any return of the Syrian refugees living across Europe should be &#8221;safe, voluntary and dignified&#8221; due to the persistent volatility on the ground. &#8221;We have agreed on the main principles and objectives of our approach in response to the fall of Assad&#8217;s regime,&#8221; said Ant\u00f3nio Costa, the president of the European Council, at the end of a one-day summit in Brussels where Syria and Ukraine topped the agenda.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;For the very first time in a decade, the people of Syria can hope for a better future,&#8221; said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, next to Costa. &#8221;Europe cares about the power going back to the people of Syria, and Europe has a role to play,&#8221; she added, noting the bloc&#8217;s role as Syria&#8217;s largest donor, with over \u20ac33 billion mobilised since 2011, which grants it greater leverage in the transition.<\/p>\n<p>Brussels is now keeping a close eye on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel forces that led the surprise offensive that toppled Assad and is guiding the provisional government with a caretaker prime minister. HTS has promised to move Syria from a state-controlled to a free-market economy, disband all rebel forces and promote an inclusive society.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;Syria must remain united,&#8221; said HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known by his &#8221;nom de guerre&#8221; Abu Muhammad al-Jolani. &#8221;There must be a social contract between the state and all religions to guarantee social justice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>HTS, however, remains a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UN and all EU countries due to its previous link with al-Qaeda. The group has been accused of human rights abuses, including alleged executions for blasphemy and adultery carried out under a strict, and at times, extreme, interpretation of Islamic law.<\/p>\n<p>This background has raised doubts about their ability to guarantee pluralism in the post-Assad era. Syria is a highly diverse country, inhabited by Sunni Muslims, who represent over 70% of the population, alongside Shia Muslims, Alawites, Christians and ethnic minorities like Druze, Iraqis, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds and Palestinians. &#8221;We all know that for now, the jury is still out. It is too early to say whether the new leadership will be able to deliver what they promise,&#8221; von der Leyen cautioned.<\/p>\n<p>The EU sent earlier this week a senior diplomat to make direct contact with HTS, a first step towards normalisation of ties. During a trip to Turkey, von der Leyen opened the door for lifting the hard-hitting sanctions that were imposed against Assad&#8217;s regime. The Commission chief has also vowed to step up humanitarian and development aid to help Syria rebuild from the ashes of a brutal, devastating civil war that left basic services and civilian infrastructure badly damaged. &#8221;These efforts will have to be matched by real deeds by the new leadership in Damascus. So this is a step-by-step approach that we are choosing,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>The conclusions sealed on Thursday clearly reflect this wait-and-see mode: for all the principles contained in the text, there is no concrete timeline for sanctions relief or revising HTS&#8217;s terrorist designation, two of al-Sharaa&#8217;s main requests.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/12\/19\/eu-leaders-agree-key-principles-on-syria-but-caution-the-jury-is-still-out\">Euronews<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/vastuullisuusuutiset.fi\/fi\/vaufien\/eu-leaders-agree-key-principles-on-syria-but-caution-the-jury-is-still-out\/\">EU leaders agree key principles on Syria but caution: \u2019The jury is still out\u2019<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/vastuullisuusuutiset.fi\/fi\">Vastuullisuusuutiset.fi<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[17398,17399,2211,606,607,608],"class_list":["post-136171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-eu-leaders-agree","tag-key-principles","tag-syria","tag-vau_viikkokatsaus","tag-vauen","tag-vaufien"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136171\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}