Albares and the rest of the G5+ commit to “intensify” aid to Ukraine” and reject “extremism in Syria”

Eduardo González The foreign ministers of Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, have committed this Thursday in Berlin to “intensify military, economic and financial aid” to Ukraine and have demanded that “all forms of extremism” in Syria be rejected. For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, asked European countries to be “careful” in their contacts with the new authorities in Damascus and to make “clear what we want and what we are willing to support in the future of Syria.” The German capital hosted the meeting of the G5+, the group supporting Ukraine formed at the end of November by Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Germany, Annalena Baerbock (as host); Spain, José Manuel Albares; Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski; France, Jean-Noël Barrot; and Italy, Antonio Tajani; as well as the number two of the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. Also participating as guests were the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, and the EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas. In the Joint Declaration adopted at the end of the meeting, the ministers gathered “at a decisive moment of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine” reiterated their support for “a comprehensive, fair and lasting peace” for this country and “lasting security for Europe”. “Therefore, after more than a thousand days of Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, we stand firm in our solidarity and will continue to support Ukraine in its right to self-defense against Russian aggression,” the statement continued. “We condemn in the strongest terms Russia’s decision to escalate its war of aggression through brutal and deliberate attacks on Ukraine’s cities and critical civilian infrastructure, the deployment of North Korean troops, and the use of intermediate-range ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine,” the statement continued. “We will continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path towards full Euro-Atlantic integration, including its entry into NATO” and on “its path towards accession to the European Union” and “we reiterate our firm support for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter,” it added. The ministers pledge to “intensify military, economic and financial assistance to Ukraine, including by mobilising additional European funds”, and stress that “a rapid and collective implementation of the $50 billion G7 loan, in which Europeans play an important role, will help Ukraine meet urgent needs, including military ones”. The statement reaffirms the “commitment to President (Volodymyr) Zelensky’s peace formula as a credible path to a fair and lasting peace” and warns that “peace in Ukraine cannot be negotiated without Ukrainians and Europeans at their side”. “Convinced that peace in Ukraine and security in Europe are inseparable, we are determined to remain united with our European and transatlantic partners to think and act big on European security”, the foreign ministers said. “We see this as an opportunity to renew the foundations of the transatlantic Alliance with the United States of America by strengthening NATO and ensuring equitable burden-sharing within the Alliance, including through increased EU efforts in security and defence,” it added. Furthermore, the ministers warn that, following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, “it is essential to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and respect its independence, sovereignty, as well as state institutions, and reject all forms of extremism.” “All stakeholders must respect international law and protect members of all minorities, while engaging in inclusive dialogue, led and owned by Syrians (…) to ensure an orderly, peaceful and inclusive transition, in the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and in accordance with the will of the Syrian people,” the text continues. Albares For his part, José Manuel Albares told the press upon his arrival at the meeting that European countries must consider “clearly the best way to continue supporting Ukraine”, and that means “predictability in the delivery of the material they need” and seeking “the best way to finance the effort that Ukraine requires to exercise this legitimate defence”, either through frozen Russian assets or the use of European assets through Eurobonds. In any case, the minister assured that, at this time, the main focus of attention is not the possible sending of a peacekeeping force to Ukraine in the event that a ceasefire is reached, defended by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, but “how to obtain aid that is predictable from the point of view of deliveries and that is sustainable from the point of view of financing”. Another priority “in the very short term,” he added, is “how to help the Ukrainian energy system that is being systematically crushed and destroyed by Russia, in what is a flagrant violation of International Law and which is leading to a large part of Ukraine being deprived of such basic things as heating or even light and electricity.” Regarding Syria, Albares assured that Spain keeps its Embassy in Damascus “open and operational, adapted, of course, to the security conditions of the moment.” “Our chargé d'affaires is in Beirut, but the idea is to reinforce it and for it to be able to return to Damascus as soon as those security conditions are met again,” he added. According to the minister, “it is important, because it is a great opportunity once (Bashar al) Assad has fallen and a dictatorship is behind us, that we have contacts with the new authorities, and I will explain this,” but, he warned, “we have to be careful in these contacts, and we have to make clear to the new authorities what we want and what we are willing to support in the future of Syria.” “This involves guaranteeing Syria’s territorial integrity, guaranteeing human rights and especially the rights of minorities, whether ethnic or religious, and at the same time we have to ask that what is a military movement be transformed into a political movement,” he explained. “We want a peaceful and peaceful Syria, a Syria that is inclusive for everyone, including minorities, and a Syria that has its territorial integrity guaranteed,” he added.

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