To fly from Nicosia to the Syrian capital of Damascus takes only about half an hour. From Berlin or Paris it's about four hours. The Syrian war is thus right at Europe's very doorstep.
Yet, the European Union's strategy towards Syria little reflects the conflict's proximity.
Nor has it helped to advance Europe's strategic interests in the region at large, given the EU's near-invisibility in the various peace talks. A fresh and more geopolitically minded approach could pay more d...
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Matthew is EUobserver's Opinion Editor. He joined EUobserver in June 2018. Previously he worked as a reporter for The Guardian in London, and as editor for AFP in Paris and DPA in Berlin.