Europe must put pressure on Israel to stop its “aggressions” in the Middle East, including against Syria, the country's President Ahmad Al Shara told EU leaders on Friday.
“We know that Europe needs Syria as much as Syria needs Europe,” Mr Al Shara said at an informal summit of the EU and regional partners' leaders in Nicosia, Cyprus.
The commitment by Europe to the stability and security of Syria must inevitably lead to stopping "the aggressions of Israel on the Syrian territories”, Mr Al Shara said, referring to a buffer zone unilaterally extended by Israel in the occupied Golan Heights after he took power.
In southern Lebanon, Israel is currently creating a new buffer zone by destroying civilian infrastructure up to 10km inside the border.
Also speaking in Nicosia, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said his meeting with EU leaders “was an opportunity to meet the important challenges confronting us in light of the dramatic unfolding events in the region.”
Ceasefire call
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a long-term ceasefire in Lebanon, after a temporary truce was extended by three weeks at talks in Washington on Thursday. “You cannot have stability in the Middle East or the Gulf while Lebanon is in flames, so we call for the respect of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. A temporary pause is not enough. We need a permanent path to peace,” she said.
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Leaders from Europe and the Middle East attend the summit of the EU and regional partners' leaders in Nicosia, Cyrus. AFP -
European Council President Antonio Costa, centre, chats with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, and other leaders. EPA -
Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara, left, speaks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. EPA -
Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, left, with Gulf Co-operation Council Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi. EPA -
From left, Mr Aoun, Mr Christodoulides, Mr Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Mr Al Shara address a news conference. AFP -
France's President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun meet at the summit of EU leaders and their regional partners in Nicosia, Cyprus. Reuters -
Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus, welcomes Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara. AFP -
Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah arrives. AFP -
Mr Christodoulides welcomes Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Reuters -
Gulf Co-operation Council Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Al Budaiwi. Reuters -
European Council President Antonio Costa rings the bell during the summit. Reuters -
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives. Reuters -
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz addresses the media. Reuters -
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends. Reuters
Egypt President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, and Gulf Co-operation Council Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi also attended the working lunch.
Mr Al Shara described Friday's meeting as “a moment of political maturity that is consecrating a new geopolitical situation with the framework of co-operation.” The Syrian President, who toppled the Assad regime in December 2024, has been cautiously welcomed in European capitals, which lifted sanctions on Syria ahead of the US. The EU had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria in the wake of the government crackdown against peaceful protests in 2011.
EU states have so far kept away from using the bloc's economic leverage against Israel, despite calls to do so led by Spain, while also condemning recent Israeli actions in the region. In June last year, the office of the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, found Israel had breached, during its war on Gaza, a human rights clause enshrined in EU-Israel relations.
Partnership
The EU is moving closer to signing a strategic partnership with Syria similar to those struck with Egypt and Jordan in the past two years. Next month, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani is expected in Brussels for the first high-level dialogue between his country and the bloc, “paving the way for possible future association agreement,” Ms von der Leyen said.
In January, she visited Damascus with European Council President Antonio Costa and announced an aid package of €620 million ($722 million) over the next two years.
The crisis in the Middle East was high on the agenda of Friday's summit.
Ms von der Leyen said that Middle East states were “partners for the future”, in a pivot towards Europe's southern borders largely sparked by the Iran war.
She said “bonds grow strong” in times of crisis.
“We are not just partners in managing crisis, we are partners for the future,” she said.
Europeans have been sidelined in peace talks involving the US, Israel, Iran and Lebanon. But on Friday, senior European officials, including Ms von der Leyen, offered the bloc's expertise in diversifying the Gulf's energy infrastructure away from the Hormuz Strait bottleneck.
'Hard truth'
While the EU's priority remains supporting Ukraine, it has presented itself as an alternative to the US in supporting Gulf states under Iranian attacks, with France and Italy sending anti-air defence systems during the war's early days.
Ursula von der Leyen
The UK and France have also co-led an initiative with around 50 states for a defensive naval operation in the strait once a long-term ceasefire is struck. In Lebanon, Europeans also hope to play a role in monitoring the Israeli-Lebanese border after a UN mission withdraws starting December 31.
As Iran-US talks flounder, Ms Kallas also stressed on Friday that Brussels has diplomatic expertise to offer in light of its previous role in negotiating a defunct 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.
Europe must move beyond “reactive crisis management” with the region by expanding its pre-existing defensive naval mission in the Red Sea and set up a “structural co-operation” with the Gulf in “scaling up defence production,” Ms von der Leyen said.
“The events of the past month have taught us a hard truth, our security is not just related, it is intrinsically linked. A threat to a merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is a threat to a factory, for example, in Belgium,” she said.
Ukraine has pushed for a closer defence partnership with the Gulf to fight Iranian made drones, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy striking a deal with Saudi Arabia in March to share drone expertise.
