The withdrawal of the US troops from the occupied Syrian territories will ensure the return of peaceful life to the population of the region. Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov and Hussein Makhlouf, heads of the Russian and Syrian interagency coordination headquarters, said in a joint statement on Friday.
"Only the withdrawal of the US military contingent and the transfer of the refugee camps to the control of the Syrian government can ensure respect for human rights and the full return of the population of the territories they are currently occupying to a peaceful life," the statement reads.
In addition, it points out that the Syrian leadership's efforts to return the population to a peaceful life meet strong opposition from the US and its allies, who continue to occupy part of Syria's territory, steal oil and wheat and support terrorist organizations.
"Proof of this was the comments of the commander of the US Armed Forces Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, to the foreign media," the statement said. The leaders of the interagency coordination headquarters pointed out that Kurilla's interview with Jordanian media noted the need for the speedy "repatriation" of the families of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS, banned in Russia) fighters among Syrian and Iraqi citizens living in the Al-Hawl refugee camp in the US and the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces-controlled territory of Syrian Trans-Euphrates.
According to the general, who visited the camp, there is a threat of mass ideological treatment of children there by IS preachers.
The Russian and Syrian sides stressed that Kurilla's visit to the camp was a blatant violation of generally accepted norms of international law. "This statement demonstrates once again that the occupation of Syrian territory by the US and its allied militias under the pretext of 'fighting terrorism' actually only contributes to the growing security threats to the entire Middle East. The US is not capable of neither ensuring the safety of civilians in refugee camps nor guaranteeing the inalienable rights of thousands of children living there to a decent life, education and medical care," Gadzhimagomedov and Makhlouf noted. They stressed that a similar situation occurred in the Al-Rukban camp in the US-occupied zone of Al-Tanf.
"Once again we want to draw the attention of the international community to the acutely negative consequences of the US military presence on Syrian territory, theft of oil and wheat, illegal unilateral sanctions that prevent the strengthening of the Syrian state to return the population to a peaceful decent life," the joint statement concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Georgia National Guard/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS