Moscow: Brussels conference on Syria worthless without Syria and Russia’s participation

Russia has strongly criticized the European Union’s plan to organize the so-called Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region’ (Brussels VI) without inviting the Syrian and Russian governments to this event, stressing that the conference is meaningless without the participation of these two countries.

In a statement on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that holding the Brussels conference without the participation of Syria and Russia and without the UN official sponsorship has been turned into a western forum with no added value, as there is no real sought to solve the urgent humanitarian issues in Syria away from politicization or within the framework of the internationally-recognized guiding principles of humanitarian support.

The ministry stressed that Washington and Brussels are the parties that are suffocating the Syrians through their illegal unilateral sanctions, plus, the United States continues to occupy lands in the Syrian Al-Jazira region and loot the Syrians’ natural resources.

 According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the declared goals of this conference are still fixed, that is; supporting the Syrians in their country and mobilizing the international community’s support for an inclusive and credible political process and settling the biggest humanitarian challenges which include meeting the needs of the Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq, but the European Union is trying to achieve these goals without cooperation with the Syrian government and without even inviting Syrian delegates to this conference.

The ministry clarified that Brussels also decided this time not invite the Russian officials, who took part in the Syria donors conferences, which consequently led the UN to give up its co-presidency of the conference and confined its participation to experts.

“Brussels conferences are increasingly slipping into the reckless politicization of humanitarian issues, as the western organizers have done their utmost to impede the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland regardless of the tragic deterioration of the social and economic situation and of the living conditions in the countries hosting these refugees,” the ministry went on to say.

The ministry pointed out that the western donors are not embarrassed by the fact that Washington and Brussels are the parties that have been suffocating the Syrians through illegal sanctions and by the fact that the Americans and the Europeans have impeded early reconstruction projects  in Syria through imposing political preconditions, including extending the cross-border mechanism to deliver aid, a mechanism that violates Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In April, 2021, the Syrian and Russian joint commissions for coordinating the return of the Syrian refugees stressed that the western countries have allocated funds to prevent the Syrian refugees from returning home and that the so-called (Brussels Conference) aims at destabilizing Syria and the region.        

Hamda Mustafa