Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Prague, SANA –Hynek Kmonicek, head of the Czech Presidential Office’s foreign department affirmed on Friday that what is happening in Syria is not a civil war, but a proxy war which complicates a settlement to the crisis.
During his meeting with a delegation of the People’s Assembly headed by its deputy Speaker Fahmi Hassan, who is currently visiting the Czech Republic, Kmonicek stressed the necessity of uniting international efforts to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
A delegation of People’s Assembly started on Tuesday a 4-day visit to the Czech Republic upon an invitation by Czech Parliament (House of Deputies).
Kmonicek warned that ISIS poses the biggest threat not only to the Middle East region but also to Europe and the entire world.
Kmonicek noted that the Czech President Milos Zeman will call during the UN General Assembly meetings on all UN countries to cooperate in combating ISIS which he said is not an easy matter but one which his country feels is a must in its capacity as a NATO member state.
He also pointed out the necessity of exerting pressure on Turkey to determine its position on ISIS.
In a statement to SANA reporter in Prague, Kmonicek said that the meeting with the People’s Assembly delegation was fruitful, expressing his country’s readiness to contribute to finding a solution for the crisis in Syria.
Answering a question about Turkey’s destructive role in the crisis in Syria and the silence of Europe over this role, he pointed to off-the-record dialogue with Turkey over the matter as “we both are NATO member states.”
For his part, Hassan said that the two sides had matching views during the meeting regarding counter-terrorism and means to find a political solution for the crisis in Syria in and the problem of the displaced.
Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Vojtech Filip said during a similar meeting with the delegation he is confident that the plots of some countries to tear Syria apart are doomed to failure thanks to the cohesion of the Syrian social fabric, hailing the state of co-existence enjoyed by the Syrian society with all its components.
He listened to a review of the current situation in Syria under the terrorist attacks that have targeted both people and infrastructure and state and private establishments.
The review, which was presented by Vice-Speaker of the People’s Assembly Fahmi Hassan, familiarized Filip with the fact that the terrorist organizations operating in Syria are formed of members coming from over 100 countries from all corners of the world, and that those are fully backed and financed by Arab, regional and international countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, the US, France and Britain.
Filip showed interest in the detailed explanation which the Syrian delegation provided giving insight into the much grave toll that the European economic sanctions have taken on the Syrian people and the resulting humanitarian situation aggravated by continued terrorism and these sanctions.
While he appreciated his government’s policy of maintaining close diplomatic ties with Syria and keeping its embassy in Damascus open, Filip welcomed an invitation for the Parliament senior officials to visit Syria.
He voiced his intention to accept the invitation, which he hoped would be meant to launch a new stage of economic cooperation between Prague and Damascus and contributing to the reconstruction in Syria as he noted that a delegation of Czech businessmen would be among the visitors.
Filip told the Syrian delegation that the majority of the Czech political parties represented in the Parliament favor boosting and developing relations between the two countries, striking a hopeful note that this visit of the Syrian delegation forms the start of a new stage of building closer ties.
The delegation’s visit, which started last Tuesday and saw parliamentary and economic talks held with Czech officials, was in response to an official invitation by the Czech Parliament (House of Deputies).
In the same context, talks are scheduled to be held on Friday with Hynek Kmonicek, head of the foreign relations department of the Czech Presidential Office, and Jakub Kulhanek, who is Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Security and Multilateral Issues.
In an article published on June 16 by the Mlada fronta Dnes newspaper, Kmonicek said Turkey has been the main cross route of the back and forth movement of ISIS terrorist organization receiving funds and passing into Syria and moving stolen oil and historical artifacts out of Syria.
Bridling the potentials and capabilities of ISIS, he said, would set bounds to the capabilities of the other groups of the so-called “opposition” in Syria “which in many cases are lacking clear orientations.”
In a separate meeting, Hassan discussed with Jakub Kulhanek, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic for Security and Multilateral Affairs the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, counter-terrorism and bilateral relations.
Kulhanek affirmed that the solution to the crisis in Syria comes through a Syrian-Syrian dialogue, calling for finding a permanent and comprehensive solution that restores peace and security to Syria.
He pointed out that Czech is closely following Moscow consultations which aim to find a political solution for the crisis in Syria, hailing the role of the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura.
Kulhanek said that Czech and Syria see eye to eye on that refugees are better helped in their own country and not in some other foreign one, pointing out that Czech is the only European country that has kept its diplomatic relation with Syria during the crisis which reflects its principled position towards the solution.
For his part, Hassan affirmed that the fundamental solution to the refugees’ problem in Europe lies in the unification of efforts to combat terrorism, stressing the need for a real Western intention to combat it through cooperation with the countries of the region, particularly Syria.
Hassan said that sanctions imposed on Syria are contributing to the Syrians’ displacement, urging Czech to call on its European partners to reconsider their sanctions against Syria and to exert pressure on countries that support terrorism, particularly Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and some other western countries to halt their support.
Haifa Said/Manar al-Frieh/Manal
