Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-17-Speech-2-135-000"
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"en.20120417.16.2-135-000"2
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"Mr President, the passion and frustration that Members of this House feel is very obvious from all their contributions, and it is mirrored in every conversation I have with anyone who takes an interest in the plight of the Syrian people and the horror of what is happening to them.
I want to make three particular points in closing this debate.
The first is that it is very attractive, emotionally and intuitively, to think about safe havens, corridors and so on, but we have to recognise that the violence in Syria is taking place across 180 000 km
. It is not in isolated places; it is everywhere.
We also have to recognise that the humanitarian organisations are very nervous about anything which would involve the military coming in in support of their work, and we have to respect and listen to the experience that they have. In addition to that, remember that putting boots on the ground is a huge thing, and to do so without the UN Security Council is extraordinarily challenging to say the least. So it is very important that we recognise, when we talk about these ideas, what it is we are actually describing. It does not mean I am asking the honourable Members to reject them, I am simply saying we need to understand what it is we are talking about.
Secondly, the United Nations does not have an arms embargo because they could not get agreement in the Security Council. We have an arms embargo, the United States has an arms embargo and we are asking for details. I am working with the governments of Cyprus and Germany, who are looking into this right now, and I will respond with any information that I might have.
Thirdly, we are doing everything possible and working as closely as possible with everybody else to try and get the opposition groups to unite. In my last conversation with Kofi Annan, this was very much on his mind: how to bring them together through either an umbrella or collaboration around the table, in order that they could put aside their differences and come to a common view. I know that in Istanbul, this was one of the big issues. So we are continuing to engage with them and with our colleagues across the world to try and support that unity of opposition.
But it is my view that at the moment, the Kofi Annan six-point plan is where we have to concentrate our energy. It is where we finally have a Security Council resolution we can all get behind and with which we can hold everybody to account.
It is clear that there are already significant problems in Syria with the plan and with the ceasefire. It is also clear that the observers are ready to start their work. We have to back them and to work as hard as we can to get all the six points implemented and to do what Kofi Annan has asked us for, which is to offer him our full support. He has mine."@en1
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