Turkey unworthy Syrian peace process guarantor, Damascus says
Nur-Sultan, Jul 8 (EFE).- The Syrian regime lashed out here Thursday against the Turkish military presence in Syria, saying after a meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital that Ankara should not be a ceasefire guarantor in the Arab republic along with Russia and Iran.
“The Turkish regime supports terrorist organizations and does not deserve to be a guarantor of this process because it does not fulfill its commitments,” Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Sousan told a press conference after the 16th round of the Astana process, held in Nur-Sultan.
The Syrian diplomat characterized Ankara as “criminal,” accusing it of violating international laws and carrying out “destructive policies” in the Middle Eastern country.
Sousan added that “the US and Turkish occupation of Syrian territories is delaying a solution” to the longstanding armed conflict and increasing the suffering of the Syrian people.
“The international community must make an effort to put an end to this illegal presence of American and Turkish occupation forces that harm stability, security and peace in this region,” he said.
The head of the Syrian delegation said “unilateral and inhumane” US sanctions and “the plundering of Syrians’ wealth – oil, wheat and other resources,” together with the devastating consequences of the decade-old civil war, constitute a “crime against Syrians” for which Damascus demands compensation.
Russia, Turkey and Iran issued a joint statement Thursday in which they rejected “all unilateral sanctions that violate international law, humanitarian law and UN statutes.”
They also condemned “the illegal appropriation and transfer of profits” from the sale of oil that belongs to Syria.
Ali-Asghar Khaji, a senior political advisor to Iran’s deputy foreign minister, expressed his “objection to the unilateral sanctions” imposed on Syria.
“We call for an immediate lifting of these restrictions that will only aggravate the situation,” he said.
In addition to the sanctions imposed by the US government on Syria since the beginning of the armed conflict, Washington in June 2020 handed down fresh sanctions targeting “investors supporting the Assad regime’s corrupt reconstruction efforts” and persons “obstructing, disrupting or preventing a ceasefire or a political solution to the Syrian conflict.” EFE
kk-fss/cae/jgb/lap/mc
