President Assad: ‘israel’ seeks to displace Christians across region

“The displacement of Christians is a main goal for the external schemes for the region, but it is mainly an Israeli goal,” he told participants of the International Ecclesiastical Conference held in Damascus on Sunday.

Explaining how this could further Israel’s interests, he said, “When the countries of the region are divided into different sectarian states, each with a single color, then Israel will become part of the natural tissue.”

“Therefore, maintaining the texture of the region and its diverse identity are a need that we should defend,” Assad said.

Syrians adhering to the Christian faith “have never been a ‘guest,’ nor a ‘passenger’ citizen, but a true partner in work and production,” he added.

Syria and Israel are technically at war due to Tel Aviv’s continued occupation of the Arab country’s Golan Heights.

Israel maintains a significant military presence in the territory, which it uses as one of its launchpads for attacks against the Syrian soil.

The Tel Aviv regime mostly keeps quiet about its attacks on Syrian territory, which many view as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s increasing success in confronting terrorism.

Israel has been a key supporter of terrorist groups that have opposed Assad’s government since foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria in March 2011.

Syria pavilion at Expo 2020 hosts intl. meeting

Separately, SANA said a pavilion that Syria has been running at Dubai Expo 2020, hosted an international meeting on Syrian archaeological sites.

The event was held at the invitation of the Syrian Trust for Development under the title “Restoring the Syrian heritage and reviving local communities.”

The meeting took place following a visit by Assad to the United Arab Emirates, which came despite efforts by the United States and its allies to isolate Damascus either through backing anti-Syria terrorists or slapping sanctions on the Arab country.

Assad traveled to the UAE on Friday, where he met Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

During his meeting with Assad, the UAE crown prince “stressed that Syria is a fundamental pillar of Arab security.”

“The UAE is keen to strengthen cooperation with Syria,” he added, describing the two nations as “brotherly peoples.”

Shortly afterwards, US State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed “profound disappointment” over Abu Dhabi’s reception of the Syrian statesman.