Russia and Syria: West aims to loot Arab republic

05 March 2021

 

The goal of Western countries in Syria is to plunder the country's national wealth, not to fight terrorism. This was stated in a joint statement by the Russian and Syrian interagency coordination headquarters issued on Thursday.


"All steps taken by Western countries have nothing to do with the war against terrorism in Syria, and their true goal is to plunder with impunity the national wealth of a sovereign member state of the United Nations," the statement said.


The document explains that the technology of crushing the country and increasing US military presence in the hydrocarbon-rich northeastern part of Syria is being actively used for this purpose.


"This, in particular, is confirmed by the statement of former US President Donald Trump, who essentially cited oil as the main reason for the US troop presence in Syria," the statement said.


Justifying its presence in the country by the fight against the terrorist threat, the international coalition forces, in fact, themselves stimulate the activity of gangs - feed them with weapons, ammunition, money, train fighters, the document stresses.


"At the same time, the West is pursuing a policy of economic strangulation of the country. We are convinced that it is the illegal presence of military contingents of Western countries and their destabilizing activities on the territory of Syria that require priority attention of the entire world community because it is them that contribute to the deterioration of the criminal and economic situation in the republic and in the entire Middle East region," the statement reads.


US involvement


The statement also noted that the US is violating international law by conducting airstrikes and supporting illegal armed groups on Syrian territory.


"In violation of international law and the UN Charter, the Americans are conducting airstrikes on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, occupying large areas of the country and openly supporting illegal armed groups, thereby stimulating the growth of terrorist activity," the document noted.


It is also noted that despite the efforts of the Syrian leadership to restore peaceful life in the country, the US and its allies continue to conduct an anti-Syrian sanctions policy, actually aimed at forcing the Syrian population to follow the instructions of Western countries.


The heads of the Russian and Syrian interagency coordination headquarters stressed that given the difficult situation in the world with the coronavirus pandemic, the process of Syrians' return to their homeland has objectively slowed. "Since the beginning of this year, 8,467 refugees have arrived on Syrian territory through the checkpoints on the border with Lebanon, while the Nasib checkpoint on the Syrian-Jordanian border is still closed due to US pressure on the Hashemite Kingdom authorities," they said.


The statement said the Syrian leadership has declared the return of refugees to the country a national priority and is making every effort to intensify the process. "Given that the tasks of repatriating citizens and rebuilding the country are inextricably linked, the republic's government is allocating tens of billions of Syrian pounds to projects to rehabilitate refugees and develop infrastructure in the regions," it said.


Increase in militant activity


The UN notes an increase in gang activity in territories outside the control of Syrian authorities, the statement said.


"According to the UN, there has been an increase in gang activity in territories outside Damascus' control. In the south of the country, terrorists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (banned in the Russian Federation) commit attacks on units of government security forces, state institutions and supporters of reconciliation with the Syrian authorities. In the central part of the country, regular attacks of ISIS fighters (former name of the terrorist group Islamic State, banned in the Russian Federation) on social infrastructure facilities and humanitarian convoys are recorded," the statement reads.


The document stresses that "in the course of attacks and terrorist acts in places of mass accumulation of civilians, the gangs widely use improvised explosive devices".

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Creative Commons

Based on materials from TASS