AFP, Brussels, 30 Jan 2012 – European leaders joined the United States on Monday in calling on the UN Security Council to take steps to end the repression in Syria.
‘We express our outrage at the atrocities and repression committed by the Syrian regime, and urge the members of the UN Security Council to take long overdue steps to bring an end to the repression,’ EU President Herman Van Rompuy told a news conference after a summit in Brussels.
The EU declaration mirrored a call by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the world body to act amid Russian opposition to an Arab League-supported UN resolution that calls for a ceasefire.
‘I urge all members of the UN Security Council to assume their responsibilities in relation to the situation in Syria,’ Van Rompuy said in a separate statement.
Van Rompuy said the EU continues to back Arab League efforts to end the violence in Syria and the grouping’s decision to increase cooperation with the UN.
‘A swift reaction by the UN Security Council is urgently needed,’ he said.
Citing figures of more than 5,000 killed and 400 children ‘murdered’ in the repression, British Prime Minister David Cameron said: ‘It’s frankly an appalling situation.’
‘Our message is clear, we will stand with the Syrian people,’ he said. ‘And it’s time for all the members of the UN Security Council to live up to their responsibilities instead of shielding those with blood on their hands.’
‘Today all 27 EU members backed that call for UN action in a move that was led by the UK,’ he said. ‘It’s time for all the members of the Security Council to back that.’
British Foreign Secretary William Hague and French counterpart Alain Juppe will join Clinton in attending a session of the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday.
The EU has adopted a raft of sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, including asset freezes and travel bans against regime leaders. It is also enforcing an arms embargo and a ban on imports of Syrian crude oil.