Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Moscow, SANA – Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the meeting of the international support group for Syria due to be held on Thursday in Munich will discuss coordinating efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria.
In a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday, Zakharova said that the group will also discuss ways to resolve the issues that led to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura postponing intra-Syrian dialogue in Geneva, stressing that Russia will guarantee that the “Riyadh opposition” will not demand any preconditions, as per Security Council resolution no. 2254.
She said that the meeting will also address the issue of the participation of Kurds in the Geneva talks, adding that the Kurds are fighting ISIS and they shouldn’t be excluded from deciding the future of their country, noting that there international sides that want to prevent their participation to further their own ends.
Zakharova went on to say that the issues of ceasefire and delivering humanitarian aid to besieged areas will be discussed.
The Spokesperson pointed out that the Syrian Arab Army’s achievements in ridding the border areas with Turkey from terrorism are raising concerns in Turkey, Germany, and the West, saying that these border areas are used to provide weapons and supplies to terrorists in Syria and at the same time they are used for illicit trade in petroleum stolen from Syria, which is why the Syrian Army’s achievements are upsetting Turkey which wants to protect its illicit trade.
She asserted that Russia exerted huge efforts for holding the intra-Syrian dialogue, and it’s illogical to accuse it of undermining it, affirming that the statements of some Western officials have a negative impact on dialogue in Geneva.
Zakharova pointed out to the statements made by US State Secretary John Kerry who claimed that the Russian aerial operations in Syria are killing civilians, saying that these statements are irresponsible and unacceptable because he has sufficient information about the Russian operations, and he has no information, proof, or photos that support his claims.
She also said that the statements of American officials claiming that Russia is using internationally-prohibited bombs that kill civilians in Syria are also unacceptable, as these statements lack any proof to back them and are coming from the very same side that used such bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Spokesperson went on to assert that the US and Western accusations of Russia’s counterterrorism operations in Syria resulting in a humanitarian crisis are baseless; rather it is the West and other states in the Middle East that further complicated the situation in Syria.
Zakharova stressed that people are fleeing due to terrorism and the accumulative situation from the past years, not because of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ activities, and that the goal of these operations is to eliminate ISIS, adding that Western media claims that there are Russian troops on the ground in Syria are baseless.
She also dismissed the allegations made by Turkey’s representative at the UN who claimed that Moscow is rejecting dialogue with Ankara, saying that these allegations are pure propaganda and an attempt to shrug off responsibility for the death of the Russian pilot whose plane was shot down by Turkey in 2015.
Zakharova said that those who think the Turkish campaign will remain unanswered are delusional, and that Turkey’s policy of refusing to admit culpability for the downing of the Russian plane, its persistence in making unrealistic statements about Russia’s operations in Syria, and its use of double standards when it comes to fighting terrorism mean that there are no possibilities for resuming dialogue between Russia and Turkey in the near horizon.
Hazem Sabbagh
