Syria’s permanent mission to the United Nations said Newsweek that the country is willing to enter into talks with Joe Biden’s government if it reverses the policies of its predecessors.
Such a turnaround would include halting intervention in Syria’s domestic affairs, withdrawing U.S. troops deployed without Damascus’ permission and halting oil and gas resources exploration, the mission said.
It would also include ending aid to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish force seeking greater autonomy in the northeast of the country, as well as aid to other non-state actors involved in the civil war, according to the mission.
“The reason for the existing disputes with the United States of America is the policies of previous US governments which include: interference in Syrian internal affairs, occupation of territories in the Arab Republic of Syria, theft of its natural resources, and support of apartheid militias and armed residents of terrorist entities in Syria, ”said Syria’s permanent mission to the UN. Newsweek.
If these conditions were met, Damascus would consider re-establishing ties with Washington, which severed ties in 2012 when Syria’s Arab Spring era degenerated into an overall conflict between security forces, insurgents and jihadist factions. .
“In the event that the US Government is prepared to abandon this policy,” the mission said, “Syria will not object to meaningful and purposeful communication, far from the conditions the previous government sought to impose on Syria. the situation in Syria and the region. ‘
DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP / Getty Images
The Biden government has not yet sent any similar signals to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has accused the US and its partners during the nearly decade-long war of war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons.
Biden served as vice president when former president Barack Obama first launched a secret campaign to support rebels fighting to oust Assad in the early stages of the war. However, as Islamists gained ground nationwide, the US attracted attention to defeat the militant group Islamic State (ISIS), and the Pentagon formed an international coalition with the support of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The Syrian army has also embarked on ISIS in a separate campaign backed by Russia, Iran and related militias now considered a major threat by Israel, the closest US ally in the region.
Syrian air defenses were activated in response to an Israeli attack on the south of the country, aimed at what one source in Syria said Newsweek were locations near the Damascus International Airport and Al-Kisweh south of the capital, as well as the southwestern city of Al-Quneitra and a radio station in nearby Daraa.
The attacks were the latest strikes in a period of heightened Israeli military action against the war-torn nation.
Even with the ISIS physical caliphate mostly defeated, violence on the ground continues between Syrian troops, fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces and various rebel groups and jihadi elements. Meanwhile, an estimated 600 to 900 U.S. troops remain near oil and gas sites in regions under Syrian Democratic forces, which have recently worked in clashes with Syrian forces over efforts to reconcile the two factions.
At his first press conference on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Ned Price elaborated on the current bid of the Biden government over Syria ahead of the tenth anniversary of the war.
“We will renew the US efforts to promote a political settlement to end the civil war in Syria in close consultations with our allies, our partners and the UN,” Price told reporters. “A political settlement must address the underlying causes that led to nearly a decade of civil war. We will use the tools at our disposal, including economic pressures, to bring about meaningful reform and accountability, and we will continue to do so. To support the UN’s role in negotiating a political settlement in line with UNSCR 2254. “
UN Security Council Resolution 2254, adopted in 2015, paved the way for the formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee. The committee, made up of representatives of the government, opposition and members of civil society elected by the UN, held its fifth session in Geneva last week.
The meeting was attended by the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, who said on Friday in remarks to Newsweek through his office that he still had to make contact with the Biden administration. Russia, Iran and the main opposition sponsor, Turkey, have also held their own joint sitting on the sidelines, reaffirming their status as the main guarantee of the beleagured attempt to end Syria’s civil war as they prepare for their next meeting later this year. month in Sochi.
DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP / Getty Images
While arbitration abroad continues, Syria’s domestic suffering has deepened significantly, not only as a result of the conflict, but also as a result of an economic crisis exacerbated by blockades caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Price said resuming humanitarian aid suspended by the previous government was also a priority.
“We will also restore US leadership by providing humanitarian aid,” Price said. “Syria is a humanitarian disaster, and we need to do more to help vulnerable Syrians displaced in Syria, as well as refugees who have fled abroad.”
However, Russia and Iran, along with Syria, have accused the US of contributing to the country’s humanitarian crisis by implementing harsh sanctions, which were intensified last summer in an effort to further express the government.
During a press conference with his Jordanian counterpart on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a smear of what he calls “the West’s general strategy for government change in the Syrian Arab Republic”, which is contrary to with the decisions of the UN Security Council. He praised the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and stressed the need for a Syrian-led dialogue, with support – but not interference – from outside countries.
Lavrov provided a list of conditions on the ground needed to end the conflict, including the need to eradicate remaining small centers of terrorism in the Syrian Arab Republic, to provide conditions for the return of refugees and seeking international assistance for the reconstruction of this country. ‘