Al-Moallem: We Are Writing Final Chapter of Crisis in Syria Thanks to Syrian Army’s Victories, Allies’ Support

NEW YORK -Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Walid al-Moallem affirmed on Monday that the main battles in Syria have almost reached the end as “we are writing the last chapter of the crisis in Syria thanks to the victories of the Syrian Arab Army and the support provided by the allies.”

Al-Moallem told Russia Today TV in an interview that whoever watches the field operations carried out by the Syrian Army and its friends and allies can see that over the past three months, it has been able to liberate more than 55 percent of the Syrian territories.

He added that the measures on the ground such as lifting the siege imposed on Deir Ezzor, and earlier liberating Palmyra and al-Sikhnieh are significant battles which are equal to liberating Aleppo, “that is why I say that the main battles in Syria have almost reached the end and consequently, we are writing the final chapter of the crisis.”

Al-Moallem went on saying that the US presence on the Syrian territories is “illegitimate and it came without permission by the Syrian Government,” adding “we will knock all doors, and when diplomacy will fail, we will consider other solutions,” SANA reported.

 Syria supports Iraq’s unity

Regarding the referendum on the secession of “Kurdistan” northern Iraq, al-Moallem said “this issue is categorically rejected by us, and we are with the unity of Iraq,”

“The Syrian Kurds want a type of self-management within the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic, and this issue is negotiable and can be discussed, and when we eradicate ISIS, we can sit with them and agree on the shape of the future,” al-Moallem elaborated.

Talking about the possibility of establishing de-escalation zones in the north of Syria, al-Moallem said that this issue requires the acceptance of different parties and not just the Syrian Government as a result of the foreign interference in the crisis in Syria.

Any foreign presence in Syria without permission on Syrian government illegal

Answering a question on the Turkish stance and Turkey’s existence as a guarantor state of stopping hostilities, he said that “any foreign presence in Syria without the acceptance of the Syrian Government is illegal, and we agreed on establishing a de-escalation zone in Idleb because we considered that as a test for the Turkish intentions.”

He added that halting the Turkish support to terrorist groups will be the first turning point in the Turkish stance, “and after that, we will discuss any Turkish proposal regarding the improvement of relations.”

Al-Moallem welcomed the Iranian support provided to Syria and the role of Iran as a guarantor of Astana process, saying “Iran has stood by us and helped us in combating terrorism.”

As for the Israeli repeated aggressions on Syria, al-Moallem said “priority is given now to combating ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations,” stressing that “Syria will respond to the Israeli raids in case they will continue or not.”

Commenting on the Gulf crisis and its consequences on the development of the scene in Syria, al-Moallem said “I haven’t felt that, what we are concerned about in that crisis is who finances and arms the terrorist organizations…Till now the support is continued to these terrorist organizations.”

Syria welcomes Chinese, Iraqi, UAE and Egyptian observer role in Astana process

He added “we have informed the Russian side that we welcome the joining of China, Iraq, the UAE and Egypt as observer states of Astana process, and there is a fifth state which I have forgotten.”

He asserted that there is a strong and daily cooperation with Iraq because “we are fighting a common enemy, but we don’t have any channels of communication with the US with regard to fighting ISIS…We are coordinating with Iraq and we don’t interfere in whoever coordinates with Iraq.”

Speaking on the relation with the European states, al-Moallem said “Any states which want to cooperate in fighting terrorism must firstly stop the direct and indirect support to terrorism and must adopt a realistic policy towards the crisis in Syria, and they must also seek to lift the coercive unilateral economic measures imposed on Syria.”

In a reply to a question on the international committee for the investigation into the use of chemical weapons, he said “We are cooperating with our friends in this issue and we demand forming a professional international investigation committee that is far from politicization.”

He affirmed the all the UN institutions exist in Syria and “we are cooperating with them in the framework of their specialties, and I think that there is no problem in dealing with them as long as they deal with the issue with professionalism”

Regarding the negotiations in Geneva, he said that “it is difficult to judge in advance if whether Geneva process will achieve a progress or not due to the foreign interferences in it.”

Priority in reconstructing process to be given to Syria’s friends

Answering a question on the file of the reconstruction, Minister al-Moallem said that there are plans which are understudy by the Syrian Government for the stage of the reconstruction, and the priority at that stage will be given to the friends of Syria who have stood by it during the crisis.

He indicated that the states which have conspired against Syria must contribute to the reconstruction process as an apology for the Syrian people.

Speaking on Deir Ezzor victory, al-Moallem said “Syria is looking forwards for liberating every inch of its territories from terrorism, and if this is possible before the end of the current year, we welcome it and we wish that it will happen, but we will continue our struggle till liberating every inch.”

Answering a question on the possibility of holding dialogue with some of the Arab states and of returning to the Arab League, al-Moallem said “We are the victims of the conspiracies hatched by some of the Arabs…We want to return to an active Arab League, not a league that violates its pact by freezing the membership of Syria and by allowing the aggression on Libya.”

With regard to the national reconciliations in Syria, he said” we are building hopes on the reconciliations inside Syria, and we have made great achievements in this domain as thousands of the Syrians are living today a normal life in their homeland.”

Al-Moallem to al-Mayadeen TV : Terrorism Supporters Realized that Achieving Goals of Conspiracy against Syria No Longer Possible

In an interview with al-Mayadeen TV, al-Moallem said that there’s a shift in the positions of the states that supported terrorists in Syria after they came to realize that it’s no longer possible to achieve the goals of the conspiracy against Syria.

 Al-Moallem said that Syria is “writing the last chapter of the crisis” and is moving steadily towards rebuilding what the terrorists destroyed, and that this belief is based on the victorious of the Syrian Arab Army which liberated large areas in a short amount of time, as well as the shift in the positions of the states that supported terrorists after they came to realize that it’s no longer possible to achieve the goals of the conspiracy against Syria.

The Minister affirmed that the goal is to liberate every inch of Syrian soil, and this is not by depending on other states’ policies but rather on the Syrian people, armed forces, and leadership, stressing that no-one has the right to decide Syria’s future on behalf of the Syrian people.

US presence in Syria an aggression against Its sovereignty

Regarding the US presence on Syrian soil, al-Moallem said that there’s a difference between the legitimate Russian presence and the US presence which constitutes an aggression against Syria’s sovereignty, adding that evidence shows that when US warplanes target areas in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor under the pretext of fighting ISIS, they kill innocent civilians by the thousands, while only killing a few ISIS terrorists.

On reports about the US transporting ISIS leaders via helicopters from Deir Ezzor, al-Moallem said that this is a question for the US, positing that maybe the US is keeping them to use them elsewhere.

Government guarantees safety of displaced people returning to Syria

Regarding the call for displaced people to return to Syria, the Minister said that the government guarantees their safety but it can’t force anyone to return, as such a return would be voluntary to contribute to rebuilding the country.

Speaking on his meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, al-Moallem said that this meeting is natural and it is necessitated by the reality of the history and geography.

Russia is a major international player

He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin proved in practice his determination to fight terrorism, and that Russia today is a major international player providing unlimited support for Syria, adding that Russia is consolidating the principles of the UN and the principles of equality in the international relations, and the Syrian experience with the Soviet Union has proven that it Russians are honest and do not impose their positions.

The Minister asserted that the American military bases are temporary as proven by what happened in al-Tanf, and that Russia views the issue of Kurds as a Syrian internal issue, affirming that the Syrian government is capable of resolving this issue through dialogue in the future. He also said that any attempt at dividing Iraq is unacceptable.

On whether Turkey has altered its policy towards Syria after the recent agreement reached in Astana on a de-escalation zone in Idleb, al-Moallem said that the agreement will serve as a test for Turkey; if it succeeds and paves the way for Idleb to return to the homeland, then Turkey would have truly altered its policy.

Regarding the Geneva track, al-Moallem said that the Geneva track still can’t capitalize on what is being achieved in Astana, as it remains subject to the whims of forces that conspired against Syria.

Europeans should lift sanctions imposed on Syria if they seek participating in reconstruction    

The Minister affirmed that the Syrians and their partners and the states which haven’t conspired against Syria will participate in the reconstruction process, which is why President Bashar al-Assad launched the policy of looking to the east, because these partners are to the east, such as China, Russia, Iran, India, and even Pakistan.

He stressed that the parties which participated in shedding the blood of the Syrians are not allowed to participate in the reconstruction, and if the Europeans want to participate in the reconstruction process, they must lift the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria.