OSLO Forum Sources: Positive Atmosphere, Western Countries Reconsider Stances on Syria

OSLO- Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban, the Presidential Political and Media Adviser has taken part in the “Oslo Forum” at the invitation of the Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende.

Dr. Shaaban presented a paper clarifying Syria’s view about the terrorism to which the region is being exposed, about possible exits and about the procedures the West can adopt to put an end to the flow of weapons and money to terrorists in the region.

Deputy foreign ministers as well as heads of research centers, representatives of world countries and high ranking political personalities, like former US president Jimmy Carter, took part in the forum which is annually organized by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD).

 The event drew the world’s attention to the danger of what is going on in the Middle East and to the misleading information being provided about the reality of event in the Arab region.

According to sources, a real change in the stances of western countries towards Syria events and towards developments in the region was noticed during the forum, but this change won’t appear all of a sudden.

The sources hailed the positive atmosphere prevailed in the forum as all the conferees wanted to listen to what peoples of the region want, pointing out that latest events in Iraq have aroused western countries’ fears of terrorist threats and have made them seek solutions to fight terrorism in the Middle East.

According to the sources, the West’s attempt to find a solution in the region establishes a new era based on the West’s cooperation with Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region to confront terrorism.

The sources pointed out that many participants expressed their sorrow over having refugees because of the crisis in Syria, which was, over the past decades, a safe haven for the Palestinian and Iraqi refugees and for peoples from other countries.

Many participants affirmed Syria’s key role in the region and stressed that the terrorism, Syria is being exposed to, is so strange to the Syrians and it targets the human civilization as a whole, therefore all countries should cooperate to uproot this terrorism, the sources said.

They pointed out that despite what has been said in the West about the presidential elections in Syria, it was clear that the western countries seemed to be convinced that the Syrian people have made their decision and elected President Al-Assad as they believed in his ability to get Syria out of the crisis, restore peace and security to the country and maintain Syria’s sovereignty and unity.

The sources clarified that former US President Jimmy Carter held an important symposium in which he said “I advised the US administration not to call for the stepping down of the Syrian leadership and today I advise members of this administration to cooperate with President Al-Assad, because there will be no solutions in the region without him.”

The sources asserted that the presence of Dr. Shaaban in the forum enriched the forum’s discussions on the dangers facing the region and on proposed solutions to world crises.

H. Mustafa