Mikdad: Recognition of Doha Coalition by the US Would Not Change Situation on the Ground

Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad said that the recognition of the Doha Coalition by the US and many other countries would not change the situation on the ground.

Mikdad added in an interview with The Independent Published on Thursday that foreign countries were “recognizing an artificial structure, a structure that will help promote the objectives of the US and European countries in Syria.. this coalition doesn’t represent real political forces inside Syria.”

“This move by the US will not add anything.. it is mere propaganda and psychological warfare directed against the Syrians and the Syrian government and is aimed at encouraging those armed groups that have been unable to achieve any real progress in Syria,” Mikdad stressed.

He said that armed actions did not give those who carried them out legitimacy and just meant there were terrorist groups which should have been fought against by Europe and the United States.

On the US step which included the terrorist Jabhat al-Nusra group on the terrorist organizations’ list, Mikdad said “It is too late, too small.. We believe they should have condemned all those who are carrying arms against a legitimate government. They should tell their friends to refrain from supporting terrorism in Syria.”

Answering a question on why are the US and its allies” so keen on getting rid of the Syrian leadership”, Mikdad said that there was hostility to Syria because of its support for the Palestinians against Israel, and because of its long- term alliance with Iran.

As for Jihad Makdissi, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Mikdad said that he is on a no-salary vacation.