Syrian and Russian coordination bodies meet at the Conferences Palace in Damascus
The joint meeting of the Syrian and Russian coordination bodies began today at the Conferences Palace in Damascus as part of the work of the fifth follow-up meeting of the international conference on the return of Syrian refugees and displaced people.
Head of the Syrian Ministerial Coordination Committee, Minister of Local Administration and Environment, Eng. Hussein Makhlouf, stressed that Syria continues to work to improve the living conditions of its citizens at home and encourages the displaced to return despite the escalation of the West’s conspiracy against it through coercive measures that it expanded to include the energy sector.
Makhlouf said in a speech during the joint session of the Syrian and Russian coordination bodies that the US occupation continues to systematically steal Syria’s wealth of oil, wheat and cotton and supports terrorist groups and separatist militias without any regard for international laws and human values. He added that the Turkish occupation continues to cut off the drinking water of the people in Al-Hasakah and to steal large quantities of Syria’s share of the Euphrates River, which has negatively affected food security, the environment and the lives of citizens.
Head of the Russian Ministerial Coordination Body and Head of the National Defense Administration Center, Colonel Oleg Gorshinin, confirmed that Russia will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria to overcome the current crisis and ensure the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries.
Gorshinin said that despite the hardships imposed by the war and the destructive policy of the United States, Syria provides the returnees with all necessary social support, medical care and other humanitarian assistance.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Faisal Al-Miqdad, stressed that Syria’s doors are open to the return of all refugees and displaced people, as all concerned authorities are doing their utmost to achieve this and ensure their return to their homes from which terrorism abandoned them. He pointed out that the West is violating the rules of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and this in turn has caused turmoil and instability in the world and left catastrophic effects on all countries, including the increase in the number of refugees and displaced people in different regions of the world.
Al-Miqdad indicated that the efforts made by Syria and friendly countries in the humanitarian issue in general and in the issue of the return of refugees in particular still come against the persistence of some countries and parties that use this humanitarian file to achieve political goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Syrian people.
Al-Miqdad stressed that keenness to help the Syrian people in a real way requires halting support for terrorism, ending foreign occupation, lifting unilateral coercive measures, and stopping the looting of Syria’s wealth, including oil and wheat, by the United States and its mercenaries.
Al-Miqdad called on countries genuinely concerned with humanitarian affairs and the United Nations agencies to exert more efforts in the context of creating conditions conducive to the return of refugees and displaced people, and to support Syria’s efforts in this regard.
In turn, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, Dr. Ayman Susan, affirmed that the United States launches wars and fuels sedition to maintain its dominance over the international decision and the uniqueness of managing world affairs. Today it supports the Nazis in Ukraine as well as the terrorists in Syria and many countries of the world .
Susan said that the return of the displaced and Syrian refugees to their country is a fundamental necessity for the reconstruction of what was destroyed by terrorism, and Syria exerts its utmost efforts to create the necessary conditions for this return.
Susan added that the West continues to obstruct the efforts of Syria and its allies for reconstruction and the return of the displaced, with the aim of continuing to exploit their suffering to serve its agendas and project.
The Special Envoy of the Russian President to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev affirmed that Russia highly appreciates Syria’s efforts to alleviate the suffering of its citizens who still face great difficulties in restoring stability and achieving sustainable development, and Russia continues to support Syria to overcome existing obstacles.
Lavrentiev said that the international community should take effective measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Syria and help implement early recovery projects, as this is the only way to solve the problems of Syrian refugees as soon as possible.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister General Mikhail Mizintsev also stressed that the illegal Western sanctions imposed on Syria are the reason for the suffering of its citizens and impede the return of the displaced and refugees.
“After the defeat of terrorism in Syria with the support of Russia, the joint priority tasks were reconstruction, providing assistance to refugees and displaced people to return to their homes and improving services in various sectors,” Mizintsev said in a video speech during the session.
In turn, head of the Russian Ministerial Coordination Body and Head of the National Defense Administration Center, Colonel Oleg Gorshinin, stressed that Russia will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria to overcome the current crisis and ensure the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries.
Gorshinin said that despite the hardships imposed by the war and the destructive policy of the United States, Syria provides the returnees with the necessary social support, medical care and other humanitarian assistance.
Assistant Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Yasser Al-Ahmad confirmed that cooperation between Syria and Russia contributes to securing the return of the displaced to their homeland, and government agencies and relevant non-governmental organizations are making exceptional efforts to achieve this goal in light of the available resources.
Al-Ahmad said that the unilateral Western coercive measures affected all services provided to Syrian citizens and undermined efforts to facilitate the return of displaced people and refugees.
Russian President’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova Belova, stated that Syria has an important experience in saving children in times of crisis, and Russia is keen to continue cooperating with it and benefiting from its experiences in this field.
Representative of the State Duma in the Federal Assembly of Russia, Vladimir Gutenev, indicated that Russia’s support for Syria in the fight against terrorism helped stabilize the situation. The two countries stand together in the face of American plans for world hegemony. Russia and Syria have historical and close relations, and Syria is a priority partner of our country, and we thank it for supporting our special military operation in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Minister of Education, Denis Gribov, expressed his country’s continued development of cooperation with Syria in the field of education and its readiness to share all experiences in this field.
Secretary-General of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Khaled Arksousi, stressed that Western countries theoretically support early recovery projects without committing to UN Resolution “2642” and should not politicize humanitarian work in Syria. He noted that millions of Syrians are in dire need of the basics of life, and the humanitarian response is still insufficient to meet the needs. The sustainable recovery of Syrian society is not achieved as a result of the deteriorating economic situation due to Western sanctions.
Deputy Governor of the Russian Nizhny Novgorod Province, Peter Pannikov, highlighted this visit to Syria in which many agreements and memoranda of cooperation were signed, expressing readiness to continue developing bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Inas Abdulkareem