- Title: Merkel calls for urgent political solution for Syria
- Date: 8th April 2017
- Summary: GRIMMEN, GERMANY (APRIL 8, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, ARRIVING AT REGIONAL PARTY CONGRESS OF HER CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION (CDU) AND TAKING SEAT / PEOPLE CLAPPING CDU MEMBERS IN AUDIENCE MERKEL WALKING TO PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "We are all shocked everyday - you just as much as I - when we see the terrible [images of] victims of the chemical weapons attack in Syria. We and the international community must urgently try to find a political solution." VARIOUS OF MERKEL SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "The state must take responsibility for internal and external security. We know that many people's confidence is shaken at the moment, whether that be because of domestic burglaries or terrorist attacks. Therefore, it is right that we boost the number of personnel and that we respect the security forces, instead of constantly distrusting them. We must respect them and we must give them the reasonable legal means to allow them to take the necessary action. It can't be that... (APPLAUSE) that the possibilities for communication on the internet are constantly expanding and we don't give the security forces the possibility to pursue it." AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "Our conception of the human being includes the constant that we do not despise other people because they belong to another group or because we think we can benefit if we only speak up for one group. Therefore, we are against any form of extremism, whether on the right or on the left. That must always be reiterated clearly." VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE CLAPPING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING (ON TURKEY): "Much of what is happening there at the moment, the way the president is addressing us, is completely unacceptable, that goes without saying. I would like to say again - in 2015, when almost everybody in Europe thought Turkey should become a member of the European Union, I was one of the people who always said I didn't believe that Turkey should become a member, that we needed a privileged partnership but no membership. And my position has not changed." CDU LOGO MERKEL LEAVING PODIUM, SITTING DOWN
- Embargoed: 22nd April 2017 11:25
- Keywords: Angela Merkel German Chancellor Syria Turkey Tayyip Erdogan security
- Location: GRIMMEN, GERMANY
- City: GRIMMEN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA0016BJEZ47
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The international community must urgently find a political solution for Syria, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday (April 8), following U.S. air strikes in reaction to what Washington said was a poison gas attack by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Speaking at a regional party congress of her Christian Democratic Union, Merkel also called for security services to be given the "reasonable legal means" to monitor internet communication and said that extremism of any form would not be tolerated.
Her comments came a day after a beer delivery truck rammed into a crowd in central Stockholm, killing four people and wounding 15 in what Swedish police described as a terror crime.
Merkel also reiterated her position that Turkey should not become a member of the European Union, saying that the recent behaviour of President Tayyip Erdogan was "completely unacceptable". Erdogan cast Europe as a "centre of Nazism" last week, entering the final stretch of campaigning for a historic referendum to boost his powers on a wave of nationalism. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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