Ashton Opposes Syria Plans for Presidential Vote
TEHRAN (Tasnim) — The European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, voiced opposition to Syria's plan to hold a presidential election on June 3, saying the vote would lack credibility while the country remains at war.
EU diplomatic chief Catherine Ashton "deeply regrets the official declaration by the Syrian authorities that presidential elections will be held in Syria on June 3", her spokesman said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Ashton reiterated the EU's stance that "any elections in Syria should only take place within the framework of the Geneva communiqué of 2012", a so-far-fruitless agreement on a transition to democracy as the basis for negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition fighting to overthrow it, AFP reported.
"Elections organized by the regime outside this framework, conducted in the midst of conflict, only in regime-controlled areas and with millions of Syrians displaced from their homes, would ignore the basic principles of democracy, be devoid of credibility, and undermine all efforts to reach a political solution," the statement said.
The United Nations, the US and Britain have all condemned the planned elections. Ashton also called on the warring sides "to stop all violence and human rights abuses" and return to peace talks in Geneva, which broke off on February 15 with no concrete progress toward ending the devastating three-year conflict.
