EU convenes extraordinary meeting on Idlib next week

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - The EU foreign policy chief on Sunday called for an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council to discuss recent developments in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

In a statement, Josep Borrell said the "renewed fighting" in and around Idlib, a de-escalation zone, just across Turkey’s southern border, represents a "serious threat" to international peace and security.

Borrell said the fighting causes an "untold human suffering" among the population, as well as having a "grave impact" on the region and beyond.

"I am therefore calling for an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council next week to discuss the unfolding situation, in particular at the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece," he added.

He stressed that the EU has to "redouble efforts" to address the "terrible human crisis".

Borrell said that he has been in contact with main actors over the past days, adding that he called for an "immediate de-escalation and for a lasting cease-fire".

"The extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council next week will be an opportunity to focus on the latest developments and to continue our joint work on all fronts. We need to ensure that our collective action has the highest possible impact if we want to effectively address the crisis and to contribute to paving the way for a political solution," he said.

Noting that he offered the EU support to mitigate the consequences of the crisis, Borrell said the only solution to the crisis lays through the political means.

"Everybody, especially the Syrian regime, needs to urgently re-engage in a political process under the auspices of the United Nations," he said.

The top EU official underlined the need to "continue mobilizing resources" to reduce civilians' suffering and to provide shelter, food and medicine, and highlighted that the humanitarian access should be ensured in all areas, including the most remote ones.

He went on to say that the EU member states also continue doing their part, and stressed that the EU closely follows the migration situation at its "external borders".

"The EU - Turkey Statement needs to be upheld. The EU is engaged in supporting Greece and Bulgaria in addressing the unfolding situation," Borrell said.

Thousands of irregular migrants in Turkey’s northwestern border city of Edirne crossed the Meric River to reach a Greek island by swimming or using inflated boats, but were confronted by Greek security forces, who also opened aerial fire in a bid to stop them from entering the island.

On Feb. 27, at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred and tens of others injured in an airstrike by the Bashar al-Assad regime forces in Idlib, a de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, just across Turkey’s southern border.

Turkish officials announced the next day that they would no longer try to stop irregular migrants from reaching Europe.

Turkey already hosts nearly four million migrants from Syria alone, more than any other country, and has complained that Europe failed to keep promises to help migrants.