Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad affirmed that Syria’s war against terrorism will continue until purifying all its territory from it, adding that any attacks or foreign pressure won’t affect its efforts to eliminate terrorism.
“During the past two years, the world has passed through unprecedented conditions as hospitals became full of patients and we have lost millions of souls, the economy has retreated and poverty has increased… all that was because of a virus, which can’t be seen by the unaided eye, and it still develops, mutates and threatens more souls all over the world,” Mekdad said while reciting Syria’s statement before the 46th round of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York.
The Minister added that if COVID-19 kills one time, it will kill and kill many times in light of the coercive, unilateral economic measures- the sanctions bring suffering and death in countries like Cuba, Yemen, Iran, and Syria.
He went on to say that it is obvious to all that Syria was one of the countries most affected by terrorist acts and crimes that have been carried out with financial, military, and media support of known states.
“That terrorism which killed innocents, forced safe residents to flee, destroyed infrastructure and looted the capabilities of a country where rates of growth reached to more than 9.5 % in 2010,” Minister Mekdad added.
He stressed that Syria will go ahead in its war against terrorism until purifying all its territory from it and establish the State’s control all over the country, and this is a non-negotiable national and constitutional right.
“Syria has seriously dealt with meetings held in Astana formula, hoping that this thing would positively give fruits against terrorism and restore stability and security in Syria, but the Turkish regime still gives evidence that it is not committed to Astana outcomes or Sochi understandings about Idleb,” Mekdad said.
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Foreign Minister stressed Syria’s stance that any foreign presence on its territory without its approval is illegitimate in violation of the international law and UN Charter, in addition to all Security Council relevant resolutions which underline a strong commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
He clarified that “Israel,” since 1967 has occupied a precious part of Syria, the Golan, thus, Syria reaffirms its commitment to the right to restore all occupied Syrian Golan into the line of June 4th, 1967.
Mekdad, Steiner
The work of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Syria and means to enhance its activities in the domain of the early recovery and the support for resilience were the main points of discussion during a meeting between Foreign and Expatriates Minister Dr. Faisal Mekdad and Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The meeting shed light on the necessity to approve the strategic framework for cooperation between the Syrian Government and the United Nations as soon as possible to allow the program to advance its development activities.
This article was 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.