Syria Ready for Post-Terrorism Diplomacy: Speaker
DAMASCUS (Tasnim) – Speaker of the People’s Council of Syria Hadiya Khalaf Abbas said her country is geared up for new arrangements for diplomatic relations with other countries, as successive victories by the army have sounded the death knell for terrorist groups in Syria.
In her first interview with a foreign news agency, Ms. Abbas told Tasnim that the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group is nearing its end in Syria, as the military forces have been recapturing large parts of the country and are closing in on the terrorists in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor.
She then recommended the enemies of Syria to reconsider their stances toward the Damascus government, because Syria in the post-terrorism era will shape its relations with other countries on the basis of the positions they held in connection with the terrorist groups.
“The countries that stood beside Syria and its nation will have priority for ties, investment and cooperation, but those who showed hostility, supported terrorism and aided and abetted in shedding the blood of Syrians will have no place (in the country’s foreign policy),” she added.
The speaker also said that Syria is going to launch an extensive reconstruction plan once complete victory against terrorism is achieved.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh, currently controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
In the meantime, Iran has remained a close ally of Syria and supports its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.
Tehran insists that the Syrian nation is the only side that has the right to shape the future of its own country, rejecting foreign intervention with the use of force.
