By Martin Banks - 15th February 2012
I sincerely hope Russia will support the Arab League and the UN security council
Franco Frattini
Former commission vice president Franco Frattini has urged Russia to support the international community's efforts to combat further violence in Syria.
Frattini, a former Italian foreign minister, said it was a "shared interest" of both the EU and Russia that the Arab Spring goes in the "right direction".
His comments come ahead of a debate on the current situation in Syria in parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
The EU's foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton will give a statement on the situation to MEPs in the plenary.
In the debate, UK Tory deputy Charles Tannock, ECR foreign affairs spokesman, is also expected to once again denounce the current violence of the Assad regime and deplore the veto of a UN resolution by both Russia and China.
Tannock's comments are partly echoed by Frattini, who was a vice president of the commission and also responsible for the justice and home affairs dossier in the first Barroso commission.
Frattini said it was in the common interest of Russia and Europe that current events in the Middle East lead to "more democracy, respect for human rights, transparency and the rule of law".
He added, "This is also true for Syria. That is why I sincerely hope Russia will support the Arab League and the UN security council in promoting an end to the human rights violations in that country."
Frattini said, "We know that Russia has some concerns on missile defence.
"We think that these concerns should and will be addressed. Because, as president Putin once said, Russia is part of Europe and, therefore, has nothing to fear from Nato."
He added, "Another issue of great concern is the Iranian nuclear programme. Both Russia and Europe want to find a diplomatic solution. Their cooperation remains of critical importance to reach this goal."
Frattini said that "results so far cannot be neglected," saying that president Medvedev and Putin had "advanced an ambitious vision" for Russia's modernisation.
"Under their leadership, Russia has moved forward. Above all, it has fended off the risk of a descent into chaos, a risk that was tangible when they took control of the country.
"Further economic and political reform is needed and we encourage the Russian leadership to move along this path.
"But, again, the baseline against which we have to measure their progress so far is the situation in Russia 10-15 years ago, not some ideal model of democracy."
