Amid reports that the Syrian regime is failing to pull back troops in compliance with the UN brokered peace plan, Guy Verhofstadt has said that "this is Assad's last chance for peace before an all out civil war or international intervention". 

"Baroness Ashton must urgently meet with her international counterparts and decide on the next step. What is certain is that the EU and her international partners can not just sit back and be ignored - watching as Assad effectively mocks them by carrying on "business as usual" with his slaughter.  Diplomacy is not a substitute for policy,  Assad has exposed the failure of the EU and the UN  to deal with the Syrian crisis.   The EU needs a High Representative that deals with foreign policy and not foreign relations". 

Tension is also mounting on the Turkish side with Turkey said to be considering their response to shelling by the Syrian army of a refugee camp in Turkey.

He continued "The 6 am deadline laid out in the Annan plan has been and gone and the Syrian regime  is still shelling Homs, even taking one step further by shelling a refugee camp in Kilis in Turkey's south-western Gaziantep province.  This blatant provocation by Assad both towards the international community and Turkey is evidence that the regime is not interested in a peaceful outcome.  They only seem to understand the language of force. "