LOC14:33
11:33 GMT
BRUSSELS, Sept 2 (KUNA) -- The EU Monday declined to comment on the
decision by US President Barack Obama to consult the House of Congress on a
potential military strike against Syria saying it is an internal matter.
"We don't have any comments to make on the vote in the British parliament
and the decision to put it to the vote in the US," Michael Mann, spokesman for
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, told a news conference.
"This is a question for EU member states and the US respectively. It is an
internal issue," he noted.
"It is very important for us to emphasize that our line is unchanged. What
we need ultimately is a political solution to the crisis in Syria. We need to
get the parties back to a political approach soon and we need to help Syria
get out of the crisis," said Mann.
He said that Ashton will be meeting EU foreign ministers in an informal
gathering at Vilnius, at the end of this week. Lithuania holds the current EU
Presidency.
Meanwhile, another EU spokesman Olivier Bailly told reporters that the
Syrian crisis is not on the agenda of the G20 Summit taking place in Saint
Petersburg, Russia, on 5 and 6 September.
"But of course it is for the Russian Presidency of the G20 to make this
decision," he added. (end)
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KUNA 021433 Sep 13NNNN