DISINFO: The EU and the West supported terrorism in Syria and now don’t want to help the Syrian refugees to return
SUMMARY
The European Union said that it is not attending the conference in Damascus for the return of the Syrian refugees. Why there is no attempt to alleviate the problem from its roots? A big part of the Western world supported those ‘moderate rebels’ who ended up being terrorists, and now they are trying to wash their hands by saying that they are not ready.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West’s alleged support for terrorism in Syria.
The EU decided not to attend the conference because it was deemed premature, since conditions inside Syria at present do not lend themselves to the promotion of large-scale voluntary return, in conditions of safety and dignity in line with international law. This situation has been confirmed by independent media reporting.
Contrary to the claim, the EU has never supported terrorism in Syria. In fact, many of its members such as France and Germany have been actively fighting terrorism on Syrian territory while 19 EU members have backed counter-terrorism mission Operation Inherent Resolve and sent troops to neighbouring Iraq. Pro-Kremlin media frequently label all opposition against President Bashar Al Assad as “terrorist”, as a mean to deny it any legitimacy.
See other examples of these disinformation narratives on the EU and Syria, such as claims that the EU supports terrorists and not the sovereignty of Syria; that Western sanctions prevent the return of Syrian refugees; that the European Council wants to starve the Syrian people; or that Europe calls for a separatist project in northeastern Syria.
This disinformation message appeared in the same TV programme than the claim that “It is proven that the EU and the US-backed ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria, Yemen and Iraq”.