The Islamic State (IS) will only be beaten if we confront the deep-rooted causes of its implantation in Syria and Iraq. These are the words spoken by the head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, in Rome on Monday. A military response is “a necessary response but not the only one”, Mrs Mogherini said, while receiving the 2015 prize from the Institute of international political studies (Ispi) in Rome.
It will only be possible to beat IS if “Iraq becomes a stable democratic country, that includes everybody” or if “Syria finally starts the transition to democracy and takes steps towards national reconciliation”, she explained.
The conflict between Sunnites and Shiites in the region has for some become “the 30 year war”, she said to her audience of guests. It included the former Italian president Giorgio Napolitano, the honorary Ispi president. “An interesting suggestion”, but an incorrect one, says Mrs Mogherini. She thinks the conflict between the two branches of Islam is “not a religious war”, but “a power struggle for control of the region”.
Faced with this situation, “I am convinced that the solution must be regional”, she added. Diplomacy is not an “all or nothing game”, on the contrary. “Solutions that offer advantages to everybody need to be built, win-win solutions”, she explained. She said the negotiations on Iranian nuclear power were a “good example”.
(Source: Belga)
