Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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New York, SANA – Syrian Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem on Friday met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sideline of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Talks during the meeting dealt with the situation in Palestine and the Israeli aggressions against it, as well as efforts to realize the just rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Abbas stressed the need to continue coordination and consultation with the Syrian government, while al-Moallem reiterated Syria’s firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people.
Talks also touched on bilateral relations and counterterrorism.
Al-Moallem also met Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, discussing with him the situation in the Middle East, counterterrorism, and the conspiracy threatening the region at the hands of ISIS, Jabhet al-Nusra, and other terrorist organizations, with the two sides stressing the need for the countries that arm, fund, and train terrorists to cease these actions.
They also discussed coordination with relevant countries, specifically Iraq and Syria, to implement the Security Council resolutions on counterterrorism, in addition to discussing bilateral relations and the need to boost them in all fields in light of the dangers threatening the region.
A similar meeting was held with Angola’s Foreign Affairs Minister Georges Rebelo Chicoti, with Minister al-Moallem briefing him on what is happening in the region and the fight against the terrorism affecting Iraq and Syria at the hands of ISIS, Jabhet al-Nusra, and other Al Qaeda offshoots.
The two sides agreed on the need to stop the support provided by certain countries to terrorists and to continue coordination and consultation, particularly since Angola will soon become a member of the Security Council.
Al-Moallem also met Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Gebran Bassil and discussed with him bilateral relations.
The meetings were attended by Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad, Syria’s Permanent Representative at the UN Bashar al-Jaafari, and Advisor to the Foreign and Epxatriates Minister Ahmad Arnous.
Al-Moallem: Turkey has not yet stopped training and arming terrorists and allowing foreign fighters to enter Syria
Minister Walid al-Moallem said that Turkey has not yet stopped training and arming terrorists and allowing the entry of foreign fighters to Syria to join terrorist organizations in it.
In a statement given to al-Mayadeen TV on Friday, al-Moallem said that Turkey is talking about a “buffer zone” north of Syria while Israel proposes a similar zone south of Syria, asserting that these two events are related and constitute an aggression on the Syrian territories.
He said that if Turkey’s intentions were actually honest regarding security and stability in Syria and the Syrian people, then it must cease its instigator actions.
Regarding the statements of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who said that areas controlled by ISIS are no longer under the control of the Syrian government, al-Moallem said that Ban made a mistake by saying that, and that he is bound as Secretary-General to respect the UN Charter.
“And now I ask him: when a terrorist organization occupies part of a state’s territories, do these territories become outside these countries sovereignty?” Al-Moallem went on, saying that this logic serves terrorists and doesn’t benefit the Secretary General’s role in preserving countries’ sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity as per the UN Charter.
The Minister said that there’s no coordination between Syria and the United States regarding the latter’s air strikes against ISIS sites in Syria, and that Syria was only informed of them via its permanent representative to the UN who was informed by the U.S. representative, and then it was informed by the Iraqi Foreign Minister.
Al-Moallem reiterated Syria’s support for any counterterrorism effort within the framework of Security Council resolution no. 2170 and which takes into account the need to avoid injuring innocent civilians, stressing that air strikes alone cannot eliminate ISIS, and the U.S. must understand in the end the need to coordinate with Syrians, because they know what is happening on the ground better than anyone else.
Hazem Sabbagh
