Van Rompuy affirms Europes interest in supporting democracy in Arab World

The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, Wednesday said that the situation in Northern Africa and the Middle East will remain a main concern for Europe. " I continue to believe it is in our interest, short-term and long-term, to support democracy in the Arab world. The whole region is undergoing a tectonic shift. It will take time to find a stable equilibrium," he said in his speech in Brussels at the annual conference of heads of EU embassies abroad. " But the people will not accept a return to dictatorship. Peace and democracy can only come through reconciliation and dialogue," he stressed. Van Rompuy said that there is no military, but only a political solution to the crisis in Syria. "All outside parties agree that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict. Only a political solution can end the terrible bloodshed, the destruction of Syria," he said. He urged the international community to put aside their differences and bring the parties to the conflict to the negotiations table. Van Rompuy said he " was struck, " when he visited Egypt this January, by the polarisation of positions. "The shocking killings in August took over 1000 lives. This could have been avoided," he said. "After those violent events, the space for politics has further reduced. I applaud Catherine Ashton's efforts to mediate between parties. We must do all we can to revive dialogue, to avoid that the political spirit of Tahrir Square is put back in the bottle," he noted. "There's talk of negotiations between Israel and Palestine, in Egypt, in Syria, with Iran. In all cases, it takes more than just accepting to speak, it takes the will to accept the existence of the other side, the will to find common solutions," he added.