The leader of the Socialists Democrats Group in the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, Tuesday called on Syria to hand over its chemical weapons for a controlled destruction. Speaking today at a press conference in Strasbourg on the sidelines of an European Parliament meeting, he stressed that \"we have to try to avoid any military intervention and find a peaceful solution. Dialogue with Russia is crucial and it seems as if we are at least approaching a first step there.\" \"We are not excluding military action but this should only happen if absolutely necessary. International law must be respected and this implies preventing the use of chemical weapons,\" he said. \"Our main task is to prevent any further chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Therefore, the best option would be for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons for a controlled destruction,\" added the leader of the European Parliaments second-largest political group.