Al-Mikdad at the quadripartite meeting in Moscow: Without ending the illegal military presence in Syria we will not reach any results

MOSCOW, (ST) – The quadripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey began on Wednesday in the Russian capital, Moscow. 

The Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Mikdad said during the meeting that Syria is looking forward to the future of its relations with other countries in a way that preserves the rights and national interests of the Syrian people

“We are ready to engage in an open and constructive dialogue based on our constant conviction that dialogue is the best way to reach the desired goals, as long as this is based on mutual respect for the state’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, and the non-interference in the state’s internal affairs,” Al-Mikdad added.

He went on to say that thanks to our joint efforts, the Astana process on Syria achieved many positive results on the ground, and succeeded in resolving some issues while it failed in resolving other issues. “Now, we are preparing a different new formula that we hope will be more dynamic in dealing with the various issues that concern us”, he added.

Al-Mikdad said that Syria and Turkey have long borders, common goals and interests, and we see that despite all the negative aspects of the past years, there is an opportunity to work jointly with the help and support of the Russian and Iranian friends to achieve these goals and interests in a way that serves the aspirations of the peoples in the two countries.

Al-Mikdad added that Syria is looking forward to the future in its relations with other countries, in a way that preserves the rights of the Syrian people and their national interests that cannot be waived or compromised.

“Our main goal is to end the illegal military presence on the Syrian territories, in all its forms, and this of course includes the Turkish forces, and without progress in this matter, we will remain stagnant in the same place and will not reach any real results,” Al-Mikdad clarified, stressing “we will continue to work, demand and insist on the issue of withdrawal”.

“We stress the need to fight and eliminate all the terrorist organizations on Syrian soil, as all these organizations pose a threat to Syria and other countries,” he said.

Al-Mikdad said that he has read statements by the Turkish Foreign Minister saying that “terrorist organizations will fill the vacuum if the Turkish forces withdraw and that this will pose a threat to Turkey’s security”.

“Commenting on that matter, I would like to clarify that we want a clear public acknowledgment from Turkey that it will withdraw its forces from Syria, and accordingly, practical steps will be agreed upon to implement this in an organized, coordinated and agreed upon manner”, he added.

The Foreign Minister made it clear that Turkish officials always say that Turkey supports Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and that Turkey has no ambitions in any inch of the Syrian land, but unfortunately until now we have not witnessed any practical application or Turkish will in this direction. “Therefore we hope that we will be able in today’s meeting to achieve something tangible about that, in order to get out from the cirvle of words to that of deeds”, he said.

Al-Mikdad mentioned several points on how to move forward in the aforementioned path and in accordance with a constructive approach based on principles and procedures consistent with international law and good neghborhood relations. The points include agreeing on adopting the following principles:

• Full and true commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic, land and people, and to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, especially non-interference in internal affairs, and the need to work to respect and apply this principle on the ground.
• Acknowledging the necessity for all illegal foreign forces to leave the Syrian territory, including the Turkish forces, and for re-establishing the state’s sovereignty over all its lands.
• The need to fight all terrorist organizations operating under different names on Syrian territory and eliminate them, as all these organizations pose a threat to Syria and other countries.
• Rejecting all forms of separatist schemes and agendas in Syria and working to confront them and fight the organizations that sponsor them by all possible means.
• Joint cooperation and coordination is the way to address security concerns, control borders, and achieve sustainable security and stability in the border areas between Syria and Turkey. Any illegal unilateral measures must be excluded.

According to Al-Mikdad, on tbe basis of these points it is possible to do the following:

– Discussing joint action and coordination to confront the separatist organizations in northeastern Syria, prevent the dangers they pose to Syria and Turkey, and stop the external support they receive.

Strengthening joint coordination to address the security concerns of both countries, including working to control the common borders, and taking measures to prevent smuggling and the infiltration of terrorists across them.

Cooperating in the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees from Turkey to their homeland, with the support of the United Nations and its relevant specialized agencies, and securing funding to meet the necessary requirements for the refugees’ return and the Syrian side is ready to take the measures that fall upon it accordingly.

Discussing means of cooperation to stop the seizure and the illegal transfer of Syrian oil and its revenues, which should be owned by the Syrian Arab Republic.

At the end of his speech, Al- Mikdad affirmed that all the previous ideas and points, particularly the issue of the withdrawal of the Turkish forces, are consistent with international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and with the final statements issued by the Astana meetings, of which we are all part, and they are practical aspects and requirements that are necessary to correct and improve relations between Syria and Turkey.

In his speech at the beginning of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the necessity of preserving Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and the need that the Syrian state reestablish its control over all its lands, expressing his country’s hope that the current meeting of foreign ministers would contribute to setting a road map for restoring Syrian-Turkish relations to normal.

“This meeting is based on joint efforts and meetings at the level of defense ministers and deputy foreign ministers”, Lavrov added.

Lavrov added that Russia hopes that the current meeting of foreign ministers will contribute to drawing up a roadmap for normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations

Lavrov called for lifting the illegal sanctions on Syria and providing humanitarian aid away from any politicization, especially in the aftermath of the earthquake disaster.

Lavrov stressed the necessity of preserving Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and rejecting external interference in its affairs.

Lavrov continued: The United States continues to plunder Syria’s wealth and support the separatist militias in the country. The Syrian state’s control over all its lands must be restored and border security must be guaranteed.

Raghda Sawas