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During his 4-day visit to Syria, Hans-Gert Poettering (L) met with Syrian President Bashir al-Assad.
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BRUSSELS (EJP)---The President of the European Parliament said Wednesday that “the time is ripe for significant progress towards a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, in which the European Union as a fair broker should play a more important role,” after talks in Lebanon and Syria.
Hans-Gert Poettering, who is also President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA), also stressed that “there can be no peace in the Middle East without Syria.”
“The initiative of Nicolas Sarkozy, in his position as President of the European Council, to reinforce the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean must serve to foster the peace process and to bring Syria closer to the European Union.”
“I hope that the signing of the EU-Syria association agreement will be possible in the near future, hopefully during the French Presidency,” Poettering added.
During his visit to Damascus, he met with Syrian president Bashir al Assad.
He expressed the hope that the visit to Syria of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman “will lead to concrete decisions leading to solutions in the relationship between the two countries, and that it will be an important step for further peace developments in the whole region as well as for the opening of Syria to the European Union and to the international community in general.”
Poettering visited Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan earlier this year.