Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Geneva, SANA – Speaker of the Syrian People’s Assembly Hadiyeh Abbas stressed that fighting terrorism and lifting economic sanctions help reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria, a solution that guarantees its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and meets the aspirations of the Syrian people.
Abbas, delivering a speech at the 135th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva, said that it is important for all sides to participate in combating terrorism and coordinate efforts to eliminate this serious phenomenon which threatens the whole world.
“The terrorist attacks which hit several cities around the world and claimed the lives of innocent civilians provide a clear evidence on the brutality of terrorism that is backed by some governments through opening their borders to allow the flow of tens of thousands of terrorists, recruiting mercenaries and supplying them with arms and money, in addition to training them,” she added.
Abbas highlighted the suffering of the Syrian people for more than five years due to the unjust unilateral economic sanctions imposed by regional and international powers which prevented Syrians from receiving basic human needs such as food, medicine and medical equipment, not to mention their impact on education sector, the deterioration of living standards and the increase in unemployment.
She called upon the people around the world to work hard in order to end those sanctions which violate the simplest human rights.
Abbas stressed the need for standing by the Syrian people and supporting their struggle in the face of terrorism which targets humanity and the international laws and values.
Abbas, Speakers of Parliaments discuss bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism
On the sidelines of meetings, Abbas met a number of Speakers of Parliaments and discussed with them means of activating and boosting mutual parliamentary cooperation to confront terrorism and extremism and prevent certain states from interfering in the internal affairs of Syria.
In her meeting with President of Inter-Parliamentary Union Saber Chowdhury, Abbas reviewed the Syrian government’s procedures to face the terrorist war imposed on the country and backed by some Arab and western states, calling upon the IPU to put pressure on these countries and force them to comply with their commitments and obligations regarding combating terrorism, respecting other states’ sovereignty and to not interfering in their internal affairs.
For his part, Chowdhury stressed support for a political solution to the crisis in Syria and the launch of intra-Syrian dialogue to reach this goal.
In a similar meeting, Abbas and the IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong expressed hope to enhance cooperation between the two sides and means of activating the parliaments’ role in reaching the political solution in Syria, with Abbas extending an invitation to the IPU to visit Syria and inspect the reality of events on the ground.
Abbas also met Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament as talks concentrated on importance of combating cross-border terrorism.
R.Raslan/Mazen