Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Muallem affirmed that Idleb is a Syrian province and the terrorist organizations in it will be eliminated, underlining the necessity of the withdrawal of all foreign troops that are illegitimately deployed in Syria.
Muallem’s remarks came during a press conference with the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Tuesday.
Muallem said that Jabhat al-Nusra is in control of most areas in Idleb province and that they are using civilians as human shields and it is the right and duty of the Syrian state to rid its citizens of this group, which the whole world has admitted are terrorists including the Security Council, who included Jabhat al-Nusra on its list of terrorist entities.
Muallem noted that Turkey is occupying parts of Syria’s territory, and wondered what the Turks are doing in Syria and whether they are there to protect organizations like Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State and the Eastern Turkistan terrorist movement.
Muallem asserted that combating terrorism should be an international responsibility, calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops that are illegally deployed in Syria.
He indicated that Syria has been confronting international terrorism since 2011, which has targeted infrastructure and economic development, indicating that when it comes to the reconstruction process, priority will be given to the states that have stood by Syria in its war against terrorism.
Muallem added that terrorism is a scourge that affects the whole international community and Syria is combating it on behalf of the whole world, while expressing thanks to China for its supportive stance of Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He asserted that Syria strongly supports China’s territorial integrity and considers the achievements realized by the Chinese people as a true contribution to human civilisation and it wants to benefit from them by invigorating bilateral economic relations and through the reconstruction program in Syria.
Muallem reiterated that Syria will continue the serious work of finding a political solution to the crisis, taking into consideration the admission of the Security Council that the issue of the constitution is related to the Syrian people alone and they are the only ones who can make decisions in this regard and whoever interferes in Syrian affairs should cease.
He indicated that the unilateral measures imposed by the US on Syria put it in the same trench with China, facing US economic terrorism, which is imposed on Syria, China, Iran, Venezuela and other states. He called on foreign nations to stand against this terrorism that contradicts with the UN Charter and international law.
For his part, the Chinese Foreign Minister said: “We held intensive talks and we exchanged viewpoints on the bilateral relations between our two friendly countries.”
He indicated that the general approach of the Syrian-Chinese friendship is continued and will never stop as China is keen on pushing bilateral relations with Syria forwards and it supports the efforts exerted by Syria to reach a political solution to the crisis and to preserve its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and to fight terrorism.
Wang affirmed the necessity of speeding up the process of reaching a political solution to the crisis in Syria through dialogue, in parallel with continuing to combat terrorism in Idleb, which is spreading and constitutes a major threat.
He added that there should be complete agreement among states on combating terrorism and mobilizing forces to deal a death blow to terrorism and to give up selfish political goals.
The Chinese Minister reaffirmed his country’s rejection of any unilateral step by any foreign side in Syria, indicating that such a step violates international law.
Wang added that accelerating the reconstruction process in Syria would guarantees achieving a sustainable development, affirming that his country will continue to support Syria in this process.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
