Syria crisis can end if West drops support for militants

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem says the crisis in the country could end within weeks if the states backing militants halted their support.

Muallem made the remarks in an interview with the Russia TV channel after the United Nations General Assembly session in New York City on Saturday.

The top Syrian diplomat stated that war in Syria would continue as long as militants fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were being backed by the United States, Europe and some regional states.

“Many countries speak about supporting a political solution. This is important, but this means that they need to be committed to stop their financing, their arming to the terrorist group. Especially neighboring countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” Muallem said.

The Syrian foreign minister also made comments regarding a decision by the Syrian government to hand over its chemical stockpiles, saying, the move was not out of fear of a US military strike, but a sovereign decision.

“We are adopting this decision after consultation with Russia. And we are convinced that the Russian initiative at the end is a good initiative to open the door for political solution,” he added.

On August 21, hundreds of people were killed and scores of others were injured in a chemical attack on the suburbs of Damascus.

The militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition accused the army of being behind the deadly attack.

Damascus, however, has strongly denied the accusation, saying it was a false-flag operation carried out by Takfiri groups in a bid to draw in foreign military intervention.

Following the chemical attack, the US stepped up its war rhetoric against the Syrian government and called for punitive military action against Damascus.

The Syrian government averted possible US aggression by accepting a Russian plan to put its chemical arsenal under international control and then have them destroyed.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

In a recent statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Syrian refugees, who have fled the country’s conflict, reached two million.

The UN refugee agency also said some 4.2 million people have also been displaced inside Syria since the beginning of the conflict in the Arab country.