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Europe Stays on Sidelines As Syria Conflict Unfolds

Europe keeps to the sidelines while Russia and the United States work on the Syrian conflict, while Syria’s neighbors wait quietly, holding the real leverage over the opposing sides.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C), European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (L) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso attend a news conference after the European Union-Russian Federation (EU-Russia) Summit in Yekaterinburg June 4, 2013. President Vladimir Putin defended on Tuesday Russia's right to sell arms to the Syrian government but said Moscow had not yet delivered advanced S-300 air defence systems to Damascus. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLIT
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At the Russia-EU summit, the talk turned again to Syria and the prospects for a settlement, but it made little sense to have a dialogue at this particular meeting.

The European Union, by deciding to let each country decide for itself what to do about providing arms to insurgents, has demonstrated that it does not have a unified foreign policy. Consequentially, the statements by Herman Van Rompuy have no practical effect. Europe has a strange role in the Syrian conflict in general. Russia and the United States are trying to do something, and Syria’s neighbors are waiting quietly, holding the real leverage over the opposing sides. Europe as a whole is on the sidelines, while France and Britain are acting as if they have influence in the world.

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