Damascus may soon recognize the sovereignty of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told reporters on Tuesday at the Valdai international discussion club.
The minister stressed that Syria has longstanding relations with Donetsk and Lugansk and wants to deepen relations with them. When asked how soon Syria could officially recognize the sovereignty of the republics, Mekdad replied, "As soon as possible".
Mekdad called Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics a milestone in history and said Syria supports it.
"I would like to say that, indeed, a very important event is taking place in the world right now. Yesterday Mr. Putin made a statement that is truly a milestone in history, and you know that the Syrian Arab Republic fully supports the statement that president Putin made," he said Tuesday at the 11th Middle East Conference of the Valdai international discussion club.
Mekdad is convinced that the policies of Western countries could only be responded to in this way. "Western states support terrorism, use the policy of force wherever they want, and in some cases use so-called soft power instead of the policy of force to change the situation in the world in the interests of their hegemony and domination over the peoples," he continued.
At the same time, the Syrian Foreign Minister noted that the republic expresses solidarity with the DNR and LNR recognized by Russia and is ready to cooperate with them. "We express our full solidarity with the Donetsk and Lugansk republics. We believe that the current conditions will strengthen our cooperation because it is cooperation in the name of man," he added. - "The cooperation between Russia and Syria is a deep cooperation, lasting, and we will continue or start to cooperate with new states in order to deepen our cooperation with Russia."
He said that contrary to Western statements, the Russian leader's statement yesterday strengthens peace and security. "President Putin made a statement yesterday, the West declared it disruptive to peace, in fact, it is a statement that strengthens peace because it counteracts the destructive policies that the West is pursuing," Mekdad said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 21 that he recognized the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik. On Monday night they went to the State Duma for ratification. Both the lower house and the Federation Council are expected to discuss the issue on Tuesday.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS