The Syrian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad, returned to Damascus on Tuesday, after participating in the 76th UN General Assembly meetings in New York. The delegation returned via Egypt, where it stopped over for a few hours before leaving for Syria.
At the end of the meetings in New York, Mekdad met with a group of members of the Syrian diaspora in the United States of America. With them, Mekdad recounted the Syrian government’s efforts to establish security and stability throughout the country. He discussed what the government has done to rebuild what was destroyed by terrorism, which will contribute to the return of displaced persons and refugees to their homes.
Mekdad pointed to the negative effects and inhumane consequences of the economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries on the Syrian people. He argued that the economic sanctions have caused severe suffering to Syrians on various levels, stressing the need for the Syrian diaspora to expose these practices to the American public.
The minister listened to the difficulties that some members of the community face in completing consular transactions, as a result of the closure of the Syrian Embassy in Washington and its honorary consulates throughout the United States. He also introduced practical solutions to solve these problems, which can contribute to alleviating the Syrian diaspora’s suffering and meet the community’s needs.
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In turn, diaspora members expressed their gratitude for this initiative and their appreciation for the sacrifices made by the Syrian Arab Army in defeating terrorism. They also commended the Syrian government’s efforts to meet the basic needs of Syrian citizens at home, as well as the government’s concern in caring for expatriates living abroad.
In parallel, during a meeting of the UN Security Council yesterday, Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Bassam al-Sabbagh reiterated that Syria had facilitated the start of the Constitutional Committee’s work. It had contributed to reaching an agreement on the Committee’s composition and its rules of procedure. The government had also stressed the need for this process to be controlled and led by Syria, without outside interference or any attempt to impose artificial timetables or advance conclusions to the Committee’s work. This approach is based on the principle that the Constitution, and everything related to it, is a matter for Syrians to determine by themselves, in accordance with the principle of Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity. This is the firm principle affirmed by all UN Security Council resolutions related to the situation in Syria.
Sabbagh referred to the aggressive and subversive practices carried out by the Turkish regime on Syrian territory in support of terrorism. These policies have enabled killing, destroying, looting of wealth, and using water as a tool to serve Turkey’s political games. These are weapons known to millions of Syrian citizens. Sabbagh again called on the UN Security Council and the UN Secretariat to shoulder their responsibilities and stop the crimes of the Turkish occupation by ending the presence of Turkish forces on Syrian territory.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
