From AFP: NATO on Sunday guarded against “unrealistic expectations” for peace and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa as violence flared in Syria and Egypt.
“The whole region is going through a complicated, difficult process of reform,” James Appathurai, NATO deputy assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy, told a defense summit in Canada.
“I think it’s important for the public not to have unrealistic expectations about how quickly this will happen or that the outcome is necessarily foreseen to be the one we might wish it to be,” he told reporters.
“So, we have to be patient, offer support where we can, we can’t impose it, and that’s what we’re doing. . . .”
Appathurai reaffirmed that action in Syria was not on the table.
“There is no discussion of a NATO role with regard to Syria,” he said. “Responsibility to protect doesn’t automatically translate into a NATO operation.” (photo: NATO)
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