Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Related Articles
New York, SANA – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari stressed that Syria supports any sincere international or regional effort for combating terrorism, adding that any such effort should be based on the resolutions of the international legitimacy.
In an interview with Russia Today TV channel, al-Jaafari affirmed that the Syrian government must be partner in any counterterrorism effort as well as the Iraqi government, Russia and China, “otherwise, what does it mean to be an international alliance?”
He called for benefiting from Russia’s experience in combating terrorism since it was once a victim of terrorism, noting that Russia’s reading of the situation since the beginning of the crisis in Syria has been “correct and deep” and based on experience as Russia recognized that there is terrorism in Syria and that the terrorist organizations must not be presented as “peaceful opposition” or “national opposition”.
“There is complete coordination between Damascus and Moscow on all levels,” al-Jaafari stressed.
While saying that the US conduct apparently indicates that they target the positions of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations, al-Jaafari however noted that the experience of the US policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and the recent acknowledgment of US President Barack Obama that the U.S. intelligence has not been familiar enough with the reality of the terrorism in Syria and Iraq raise questions.
Answering a question on whether there is coordination with Syria with regard to the airstrikes of the “international alliance”, al-Jaafari said “There is no coordination with the Syrian army or government despite the fact that coordination was our demand and that of our friends…Yet, they informed us before the first airstrike took place in three ways.”
Syria’s response, he added, was that it “supports any sincere and honest international effort to combat terrorism providing that it would preserve the lives of civilians and respect Syria’s sovereignty and the international pacts.”
He lashed out at Turkey for being “a main accomplice” in the terrorism inflicted upon Syria, questioning “How could Turkey call for establishing a buffer zone to protect civilians as it claims, while at the same time it prevents the Syrian Kurds from crossing the border into its territories to escape ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra?”
He stressed that Turkey doesn’t have credibility in combating terrorism since it was the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan which has brought terrorists from all around the world and allowed them to enter Syria.
Al-Jaafari affirmed that the Syrian Arab Army is able to “eliminate the phenomenon of ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra in three months not three years if Erdogan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar stop their support to terrorism.”
The Syrian Ambassador hailed the UN General Assembly’s latest session as “more successful” than the one that preceded it in terms of the meetings which the Foreign Minister held with his counterparts, “as we held dozens of meetings, and everyone was open to know what is going on in Syria and to frankly support the stance of the Syrian government.”
He struck a confident note when he said that many of the decision-makers in the world who sat with the Syrian delegation and listened to it admitted that what Syria has been saying is true regarding the presence of terrorism “that has reached the strongholds of its supporters.”
“Syria is not alone and it has a lot of friends and allies,” al-Jaafari said, citing the stances of some presidents of the Council’s member states, including those of Argentina and Venezuela, who refuted the West’s claims about terrorism.
He demanded that the UN Security Council support the efforts of the Syrian government in combating terrorism, slamming the Council for instead of working to preserve the international security and peace, “it has started to undermine them as many of its members seek to carry out their own agendas which serve their interests at the expense of the rules of the UN Charter.”
“When the Security Council adopts a resolution on combating terrorism, we expects it to at least follow up on the implementation of the resolution,” al-Jaafari said, affirming that if the Council ensures the implementation of its latest resolutions 2170 and 2178, the Syrian army is able eliminate ISIS and the other terrorist organizations within three months.
Ruaa al-Jazaeri/Hala Zain/Haifa Said
