Al-Mikdad: Jeddah meetings were at the level of ambitions

Damascus (ST): Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Mikdad, affirmed that the current Arab situation is promising in terms of deepening relations between Arab countries, indicating that the meetings in Jeddah, especially with the Saudi leadership, were at the level of responsibility and ambitions.

Al-Mikdad said in an interview with RT channel: “The emotions that we found at the Arab summit in Jeddah are permanent and continuous emotions towards the Syrian people and towards the leadership in Syria, and we have always felt and still feel that the Arab countries, leaders and peoples, exchange love because we are among the most committed to the goals of our Arab nation.

Al-Mikdad added, “The meeting between Mr. President Bashar al-Assad and Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was very warm and it expressed the historical relations that linked the two countries, and we felt from the very important words that the Crown Prince said that future is promising and that relations have returned to normal at various levels and during the past periods, relations did not reach the point of estrangement.

Al-Mikdad continued, “The Kingdom surrounded us with all the love that the Syrian citizen expects from his brother and sister, whether in the Saudi leadership or the citizens. In all of the Kingdom, joy prevailed with Syria’s presence at Jeddah summit, as is the joy of the Syrian citizen in Damascus. The meeting was at the level of responsibility and aspirations of the peoples of the two countries.

Regarding the relationship with Qatar, Al-Mikdad said: “We must not go back to the past. We, as President Al-Assad affirmed, are the children of the present, and we must look to the future.

Regarding the relationship with Egypt, Al-Mikdad explained that the goal is to proceed with restoring full relations, but sometimes diplomatic matters take a period of time. He said: “President Bashar Al-Assad and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke by phone after the recent earthquake, and there are continuous contacts between them, and on this basis, it is not possible to look only at television pictures or news information. In diplomatic relations, there is something that is said and something that is not announced. However, we are facing a promising situation in terms of deepening relations between Arab countries, taking into account the special conditions of each Arab country.

Al-Mikdad stressed that the US unilateral coercive measures against Syria are contrary to international law and all international norms. The United States claims that it is leading the war on terrorism, but in the Syrian case and in many other cases it is an integral part of terrorism. It is the one that moves and changes the locations of these terrorists according to its interests, and this is the reason behind the presence of its forces in the Al-Tanf area, where it protects armed terrorist groups such as “ISIS”, trains them and provides them with weapons in order to practice terrorism against the Syrian people and against Syria’s relations with neighboring countries, whether Jordan or Iraq.

Al-Mikdad indicated that the statement of the meeting that was held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on the first of May, focused on a gradual solution to the crisis, and this is true because terrorism cannot be eliminated, economic conditions cannot be revived, and refugees cannot return directly, as conditions must be created for them.

The Minister said: “We did not talk about a step for a step, but we talked about taking steps to reach solutions to the conditions that Syria went through as a result of its confrontation to the terrorist aggression that it was subjected to, which was supported by some European countries and terrorist governments that still insist on boycotting the Syrian people until this moment.”

Al-Mikdad added: “Since the adoption of International Resolution 2254, in which friends contributed to its creation, we said that we will implement what concerns Syria, and on this basis we seek a political solution that entails eliminating terrorism, reviving economic conditions, and removing immoral and unjustified sanctions imposed by Western countries.”

He went on to say: “The United States of America cannot punish 22 Arab countries, and the parties that can punish the United States and others who call for sanctions against Syria are the 22 Arab countries, and therefore we are optimistic about an Arab position that punishes the United States if it wants to continue with these sanctions.”

Al-Mikdad stressed that Western countries are behind the lack of an appropriate environment or conditions for the return of Syrian refugees, and they bear responsibility for destroying the infrastructure, factories, neighborhoods and economic institutions in Syria through their support for and arming of terrorists. He renewed Syria’s call for all its sons abroad to return in the light of the issuance of all decisions and decrees that guarantee them a dignified return.

K.Q.