Al-Muallem: Syria Ready to Cooperate to Combat Terrorism As Per 2170 UN Resolution
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on Monday that Syria is prepared to cooperate and coordinate on the regional and international levels to combat terrorism as per United Nations Security Council resolution no. 2170 within the framework of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and independence.
In a press conference in Syria’s capital of Damascus, al-Muallem said that, “Syria is ready for cooperation and coordination at the regional and international level to fight terrorism and implement UN Security Council Resolution 2170.”
He said that the Syrian government is ready to cooperate with international and regional efforts to fight terror but efforts must be coordinated with it.
He further noted that the consensus at the Security Council on combating terrorism is in line with Syria’s calls for drying up the sources of terrorism and facing the risks of its spread to neighboring countries and beyond.
Furthermore, al-Muallem called for putting a stop to the instigation and funding of terrorism, as well as calling for refraining from facilitating the movement of terrorists.
He added that all neighboring countries must pay attention to the danger threatening the region out of concern for their own national interests, and they must cooperate to combat terrorism.
Additionally, al-Muallem said that combating terrorists is carried out through serious political work to dry up its sources, cooperation with the Syrian government, and joint international work, and not through transgression against countries’ sovereignty, thus asserting that any breach of Syrian sovereignty by any side constitutes an act of aggression.
Al-Muallem highlighted that the Syrian and Russian positions on combating terrorism are in total concordance, stressing that those who want to cooperate with Syria in combating terrorism must be honest and serious, and that they must also relinquish double standards.
“Syria, geographically and operationally, is the center of the international coalition to fight [the so-called] “Islamic State [IS],”” al-Muallem said. “States must come to it if they are serious in combating terrorism,” he added.
In addition, he said that it is in the best interest of Turkey and its people to reconsider its foreign policies because terrorism knows no borders.
Al-Muallem stated that terrorism can only be combated through perseverance, comprehensiveness, and the efforts of all countries, noting that the Security Council resolution is binding for all sides.
On another note, Al-Muallem asserted that his country strongly condemns the killing of the American journalist James Foley, who was executed by IS, as well as the killing of any innocent civilian.
Yet, he wondered why there has not been any western condemnation of the massacres committed by the ISIL extremist organization against the Syrian army and citizens in Syria.
