EU foreign policy chief says war in Syria must end to defeat Daesh

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said yesterday that the conflict in Syria must end first in order to defeat Daesh and solve the refugee crisis, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported.

“The defeat of Daesh can only be achieved if we put an end to the Syrian crisis and Syrian civil war and it could only be achieved through the process of national reconciliation. The process in Vienna is the only way forward,” Mogherini said at the Ministerial Council conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

Mogherini added: “The terrorists want to divide the international community. (…) Only a pacified Syria – heading towards national reconciliation – can lay the ground for a long lasting defeat of Daesh.”

“Terrorism is a direct threat to all countries and such a threat could only be countered through international cooperation,” she said, noting that the recent terrorist operations witnessed by Paris, Ankara and Istanbul, as well as the downing of the Russian plane in Egypt are some of the most painful memories of terrorism.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who attended the meeting, said: “Extremists cannot be defeated with airstrikes alone” adding that it was necessary to engage “some Syrian and Arab” ground forces to fight against Daesh.

Kerry also said there would be no negotiations with terrorists and called for determination in the intent to defeat the terrorist group.