Walid Al-Moualem, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Syria, addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, the United States, Oct. 1, 2012. Syria on Monday accused the United States and its allies, who make up part of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, of supporting terrorism in the Middle East country "under the pretext of humanitarian intervention" and "under the pretext of the 'Responsibility to Protect'." (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
DAMASCUS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al- Moallem said Monday that his country is facing "organized terrorism" backed by foreign countries.
Syria "has been facing organized terrorism that affected our citizens, our human and scientific resources, national establishments, and also many of Syria's historic and archeological landmarks through terrorist bombings, assassinations and massacres," the state-run SANA news agency quoted al-Moallem as saying in an address at the United Nations General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting in New York.
The Syrian foreign minister accused some countries of "either turning a blind eye to the activities of terrorist groups crossing their borders, or providing active material and logistical support from their territory for armed terrorist groups."
"(To) what extent the statements of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States and France, which clearly induce and support terrorism in Syria with money, weapons and foreign fighters, are in line with the international responsibilities of these countries in combating terrorism?" he questioned.
Al-Moallem pointed out that the "terrorism" in Syria is backed by a media provocation based on igniting religious extremism " sponsored by well-known states."
He also called on the countries to "stop arming, funding, training and harboring armed terrorist groups, and instead to encourage dialogue and renounce violence."
The minister said the Syrian government had the initiative to call for dialogue since the beginning of the crisis and responded positively throughout the crisis to all sincere initiatives that aimed at finding a solution to the crisis without foreign intervention, noting that the government's calls were met with no positive response from the opposition.
Syria has welcomed the appointment of Lakhdar Brahimi as the UN special representative for Syria, and will fully cooperate with him, he said.
The minister highlighted that the success of any international effort requires the commitment from both the Syrian government and the states that are supporting the armed groups in Syria.
He slammed foreign calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down as "flagrant interference in the domestic affairs of Syria, the unity of its people and its sovereignty."
"The Syrians are the only ones authorized to choose their own future and the shape of their own state," he said.
The Syrian top diplomat made the remarks as violence remain ongoing in Syria with no sign of backing down, especially in some restive suburbs of the capital Damascus, parts of the northern Aleppo city, and the provinces of Idlib and Deir al-Zour.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Syria on Monday accused the United States and its allies, who make up part of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, of supporting terrorism in the Middle East country "under the pretext of humanitarian intervention" and "under the pretext of the 'Responsibility to Protect'."
The statement came as Walid Al-Moualem, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Syria, was taking the floor at the one-week annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly, which is scheduled to conclude here later on Monday. Full story
DAMASCUS, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government on Sunday renewed accusations of Turkey for supporting armed groups, including al-Qaida fighters, and facilitating their inroads into Syria.
"It's regrettable that the Turkish government has for long pretended to be fighting terrorism, while at the same time supporting the armed terrorist elements and open its borders and airports for those elements to carry out terrorist acts against the Syrian people," Syria's Foreign Ministry said Sunday in letters sent to UN officials and carried by the state-run SANA news agency. Full story
BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhuanet) – Since more and more evidence further indicated that terrorists were involved in the anti-government conflict in Syria, world media, political figures and experts were shocked and began criticizing the U.S. government for taking double standards on the issue of terrorism.
In fact, as early as February, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Congressional hearing that there were “all the earmarks of an al-Qaida-like attack” in a series of bombings against security and intelligence targets in Syria's capital city Damascus. Full story
DAMASCUS, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday that the Syrian people and the government are determined to purge the country of "terrorists," according to the state-run SANA news agency.
The president's remarks came during his meeting with Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who arrived in Syria earlier on Tuesday to hold talks with Assad. Full story
DAMASCUS, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Syria's foreign ministry on Monday blamed the suicide bombings that wrecked the country in the past two days on "takfiri terrorists" backed by "well known regional and international parties that had explicitly declared their support."
The ministry's remarks were made in its letters sent to the UN Security Council, the UN organization for Islamic cooperation and the UN human rights council about the suicide bombings in Damascus and northern Aleppo which killed at least 29 people. Full story
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