President Al-Assad: European Officials Should Pressure Their Governments to Stop Supporting Terrorism

DAMASCUS, (ST)-President Bashar Al-Assad has stressed that what is going on in Syria is a conflict between countries that seek maintaining the International Law, namely Russia and China, on the one hand, and other countries that violate this International Law through supporting terrorist organizations in Syria and interfering in the internal affairs of the country on the other.

The president made the remarks during his meeting on Monday with a joint Russian-European parliamentary delegation led by Vladimir Vasilyev, Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma.

 Talks during the meeting dealt with the situation in Syria after six years of war.

According to President Al-Assad, Syria is adherent to its vision to solve the crisis in Syria through two tracks: fight against terrorism and political process.

Reconciliation process enjoys Syrians’ support

Syria is opened to dialogue with all groups in case they lay down weapons and commit themselves to the constitution, said the president, pointing out that the reconciliation process enjoys the support of the Syrian people and it has achieved positive results that saved the lives of many citizens and protected many areas.

Without this support, the Syrian state wouldn’t have been able to continue the reconciliation process, President Al-Assad asserted.

President Al-Assad hailed Russia’s support for the Syrian people in the confrontation of terrorism, affirming that the European officials, who keep claiming keenness on the interest of the Syrian people, should stop supporting terrorist groups and pressure their governments, which feed and fund terrorists, to stop doing so, because this will also serves the interest of their peoples.

The President underscored that parliamentary delegations’ visits to Syria are very important, pointing out that what distinguishes this delegation is its being a joint delegation from Russia and Europe, thereby providing a good opportunity for dialogue among parliamentarians on the policies of their countries towards what is going on in Syria.

Need to unify international efforts to fight terrorism

On their part, members of the guest delegation affirmed the importance of unifying international efforts in the fight against terrorism, stressing that the European countries’ stances towards events in Syria have started to change, particularly after the European officials felt that the danger of terrorism has reached their countries.

They affirmed that interference in the internal affairs of other countries brings nothing but chaos to these countries, asserting the importance of intra-Syrian dialogue to reach agreement on any step that has to do with Syria’s future.

In the same context, Speaker of the People’s Assembly Hadiyah Abbas met the Russian-European parliamentary delegation, SANA reported.

She said “we rely on the European parliamentarians and representatives of the peoples of Europe to correct the wrong European policies towards Syria and enhance cooperation and coordination to combat terrorism since it is the only way to protect the Europeans.

For his part, head of the delegation underlined the need to boost the joint parliamentary cooperation between Syria and Russia, noting to the delegation members’ keenness on revealing the real image of what is taking place in Syria and convey it to their peoples.

The Russian State Duma Deputy Chairman Vladimir Vasilyev indicated to the warm atmosphere of the delegation’s meeting with President al-Assad which lasted for three hours during which the President shared his viewpoints on key issues and listened to their perspectives, views and notes.

He stressed that it has now become clear to all that the Syrian leadership is essential to the dialogue aimed at solving the crisis in the country, adding that President al-Assad briefed the delegation on the latest political developments and the Syrian army’s achievements on the ground.

Vasilyev laid stress on the necessity of pushing forward the political dialogue with all forces and enhance the political process in Syria for the sake of the country’s future.

He reiterated the Russian leadership, government and Parliament’s support to Syria’s right to fight terrorism and its extremist ideology, pointing out to the need for eliminate terrorism before its prevailing throughout the entire world.

The head of delegation noted that the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs has prepared an agenda which includes proposals which Syria, and even other states, need, the most important of which is the Constitution.

He extended an invitation to the Speaker of People’s Assembly to visit Russia in April.

In a press conference, Vasilyev said the visit to Syria aims at inspecting the reality of what is taking place on the ground and offer the delegation members’ parliamentary expertise to the Syrian MPs.

He described the meeting with President al-Assad as “constructive and fruitful”, noting that the delegation members, including the European parliamentarians, were satisfied and delighted over the outcomes of the meeting.

Vasilyev said that the delegation has submitted several proposals and thoughts to President al-Assad, including opinions about constitution, encouraging local reconciliations and truces.

The formation of a constitutional committee and its work mechanism were also discussed, he added.

He indicated to the small number of countries which provide humanitarian aid to Syria such as Russia, China, Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan, calling for mobilizing efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.

Vasilyev highly appreciated the efforts exerted by the Syrian people and leadership to solve the crisis in Syrian as soon as possible, adding that the Russian forces’ participation in combating terrorism in Syria came upon request from the legitimate Syrian government and in line with the international law.

 Hamda Mustafa