Barroso urges 'strong answer' against use of chemical weapons in Syria

The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso Wednesday expressed his support of the Russian initiative on Syrian's chemical weapons and called on Damascus to implement it. "We have recently witnessed events we thought had long been eradicated - the use of chemical weapons is an horrendous act that deserves a clear condemnation and a strong answer," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg this morning in his State of the Union speech. "The international community, with the United Nations at its centre, carries a collective responsibility to sanction these acts and put an end to this conflict," he said. "The proposal to put Syria's chemical weapons beyond use is a potentially positive development. The Syrian regime must now demonstrate that it will implement this without any delay," stressed Barroso. "In Europe, we believe that ultimately only a political solution stands a chance of delivering lasting peace that the Syrian people deserve," he said. The head of the EU's executive body noted that the European Union has led the international aid response to Syria by mobilizing close to 1.5 billion euro. The European Commission will do its outmost to help the Syrian people and refugees in neighbouring countries, he added.