Monday, 25 August 2014

Moallem: Syria Ready to Cooperate to Combat Terrorism As Per 2170

Local Editor

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem

Syrian caretaker deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, said that Syria is prepared to cooperate and coordinate on the regional and international levels to combat terrorism as per United Nations Security Council resolution no. 2170 within the framework of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and independence.

In a press conference in Damascus on Monday, Moallem said that Syria welcomes resolution no. 2170 and is committed to it, despite the fact that this decision came late, noting that the consensus at the Security Council on combating terrorism is in line with Syria’s calls for drying up the sources of terrorism and facing the risks of its spread to neighboring countries and beyond.

He said that terrorism can only be combated through perseverance, comprehensiveness, and the efforts of all countries, noting that the Security Council resolution is binding for all sides.
The Minister called for putting a stop to the instigation and funding of terrorism, as well as calling for refraining from facilitating the movement of terrorists.

Moallem said all neighboring countries must pay attention to the danger threatening the region out of concern for their own national interests, and they must cooperate to combat terrorism, adding that it’s in the best interest of Turkey and its people to reconsider its foreign policies because terrorism knows no borders.

He said that combating terrorists is carried out through serious political work to dry up its sources, cooperation with the Syrian government, and joint international work, not through transgression against countries’ sovereignty, asserting that any breach of Syrian sovereignty by any side constitutes an act of aggression.

Moallem highlighted that the Syrian and Russian positions on combating terrorism are in total concordance, stressing that those who want to cooperate with Syria in combating terrorism must be honest and serious, and that they must also relinquish double standards.

The Syrian official asserted that his country strongly condemns the killing of the American journalist James Foley as well as the killing of any innocent civilian.

However, Moallem wondered why there hasn’t been any western condemnation of the massacres committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist organization against the Syrian army and citizens.