Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Baghdad, SANA – Speaker of the People’s Assembly Mohammad Jihad al-Laham demanded that the governments and parliaments of world countries work on fighting terrorism, in case they are serious and sincere about supporting the Syrian people.
“This needs to be the top priority in any talk or dialogue, because eliminating terrorism is the real path into establishing stability, reconstruction and building a real partnership among the Syrians,” said al-Laham in an address to the 11th session of the conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUIC) held in Baghdad. 
He reiterated call on world countries to follow in Russia’s footsteps and coordinate with the Syrian and Iraqi government in the counterterrorism efforts on the ground.
This is, he said, is the only way to get rid of terrorism before it becomes aggravated and spread to other countries.
Al-Laham criticized some Arab, Islamic and Western countries that have invested in cross-border terrorism striking Syria and Iraq for the sake of achieving private interests, stressing that this exploitation goes against the commitments of non-interference in countries’ affairs stated in the principles of the Union and the Charter of the OIC.
It is also “a clear breach” of the Security Council’s resolutions on counterterrorism, including those no. 1373 of 2001 and 2170 and 2178 of 2014, he added.
Laham meets Larijani
Later, al-Laham met Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council (Parliament) Ali Larijani, and discussed with him parliamentary relations between the two countries and how to improve cooperation.
During the meeting, al-Laham said that the Syrian people value the position of Iran and its support for the Syrians in the face of terrorism and the unjust economic embargo imposed on them, adding that the cooperation between Syria, Iran, and Russia in fighting terrorism constitutes a front for defending the world’s interests.
For his part, Larijani asserted that Iran will always support Syria and its people in the face of terrorism and the Takfiri mentality, voicing satisfaction over the achievements made by the Syrian Arab Army against ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations.
He also hoped that the upcoming Geneva talks will realize the Syrians’ interests, particularly in terms of eliminating terrorism which is waning under the blows dealt to it by the Syrian Army and the forces supporting it.
H. Said / Hazem Sabbagh
