Foreign Ministry: Russian counter-terrorism efforts create suitable conditions for political process

The Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry asserted that the military support provided by Russia to assist the Syrian government and army in fighting terrorism is fully compliant with international law and the UN Charter, international accords on counter-terrorism, and Security Council resolutions 2170, 2178, and 2199, all of which emphasized respecting the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Syria.

In two identical letters sent to the UN Secretary General and the head of the Security Council, the Ministry said that based on a request from the Syrian government to the Russian government on cooperating in counter-terrorism and providing military support to assist in Syria’s efforts to fight terrorism, Russia took a series of steps including providing air support for the operations of the Syrian Arab Army against ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other terrorist organizations, in addition to targeting bases, camps, weapon and ammo depot, and command centers of terrorist organizations operating in Syria.

The letters, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA),  noted that Syria had repeatedly invited the international community to cooperate and coordinate fully and closely with the Syrian government on group or bilateral levels to fight terrorism, but these calls fell on deaf ears, and some states even twisted the content of Article 51 of the UN Charter to breach Syrian sovereignty.

The Ministry said that Syria expresses deep appreciation and gratitude for the efforts exerted by Russia in fighting terrorism in compliance with international law and the UN Charter, asserting that Russia’s efforts are an example that should be followed by other states.

The letters concluded by asserting that Russia’s efforts in fighting ISIS, al-Nusra, and other Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organizations create suitable conditions to ensure the success of the political process in Syria.