Syria Will Never Concede Even a Tiny Part of its Independence, Sovereignty: al-Mikdad

DAMASCUS, (ST)- Syria will never give up or concede even a tiny part of its independence or sovereignty, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faysal al-Mikdad said in an interview with the Beirut-based “al-Mayadeen” channel on Tuesday, reiterating that all should respect the will of the Syrian people.

The deputy minister said “the Syrian state has committed itself to the cessation of hostilities agreement while the terrorist organization breached it from the very beginning.”

 “The terrorists are escalating their criminal attacks as preparations are underway to hold the next round of intra-Syrian dialogue in Geneva,” al-Mikdad said, pointing out that these attacks aim at foiling the “cessation of hostilities” agreement as to serve the goals of western countries.

He went on to say that the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Intra-Syrian dialogue is Geneva will take part in the upcoming round of talks after the end of parliamentary elections in Syria and it will be led by Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari.

He hailed the Russian-American coordination in combating terrorism and hailed the Russian efforts exerted in this respect.

 “We fully trust the Russian leadership’s efforts that aim at stopping the terrorist war on Syria,” al-Mikdad said.

 Syrian-Arab Relations

Al-Mikdad said that many Arab countries appreciate Syria’s stances and understand the nature of challenges it is facing, particularly fighting terrorism which is a common challenge.   

He hailed the “successful visit” made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Walid al-Moallem, stressing that Syria and Algeria are in the same trench against terrorism and they will keep coordinating in this regard and will enhance cooperation in all domains.

The deputy minster pointed out that Syria and Egypt also have common stance against terrorism, stressing having good Syrian-Egyptian ties serve the interests of the peoples of the two countries.

The Syrian diplomat urged the European Union to adopt effective anti-terror policy and to join the Syrian government’s efforts in this connection.

He pointed out that many EU countries have supported the terrorist organizations and that such support has led to the terrorist attacks that targeted European capitals like Brussels and Paris.

He noted that there is a huge shift in the European political mood towards Syria, particularly after the terrorist bombings which targeted European capitals. He clarified that the European media has begun to criticize the policies of some extremist governments particularly France and Britain which have been massively supporting terrorism in the region.

Hamda Mustafa