EU rejects any military solution to Syrian conflict

In the wake of the United States' missile strike on Syria, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, has rejected any military solution to the conflict in Syria, saying the bloc is committed to the unity and territorial integrity of the Arab country.

"The EU firmly believes that there can be no military solution to the conflict (in Syria) and is committed to the unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the Syrian state," the EU official stated on Friday.

Mogherini said EU leaders appreciated Washington drawing a red line on the use of chemical weapons, but she said the bloc favors negotiation as the only means to resolve the conflict in Syria.

US warships in the Mediterranean Sea fired cruise missiles during the early hours of Friday at the Syrian airfield southeast of Homs, from where US President Donald Trump has claimed an alleged chemical weapons attack had been launched on the town of Khan Shaykhun in the northwestern province of Idlib on April 4.

President Trump ordered the airstrike on Shayrat Airfield under the pretext of stopping further chemical attacks from the airbase.

Mogherini said the US “launched a strike on Shayrat Airfield in Syria with the understandable intention to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons."

She further said Washington informed Brussels that the strike was "limited and focused on preventing and deterring further use of chemical weapons."

SS