West Seeking to Assist Terrorists in Syria: FM


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad described helping out terrorist elements in Syria as the West’s sole purpose in the Arab country.

The top diplomat identified the recipients of the Western support in Syria as such Takfiri terrorist groups as Daesh and al-Nusra Front, which is al-Qaeda’s Syria branch, as well as the White Helmets, a Western-backed so-called aid group, which has been found liable for many false-flag attacks aimed at wrongfully implicating Damascus.

The official, who was speaking to Russia Today Arabic in an exclusive interview on Saturday, threw the United States’ self-proclaimed intention to provide Syria with “humanitarian aid” into serious question.

He said if Washington were honest about the nature of the support, why would it not directly hand over the supplies to Damascus instead of using the Turkish border or other ports of entry for bringing them in.

“The US attaches no importance to the Syrians’ lives, and the reason for this is its refusal to annul its sanctions against the government in Damascus. Washington’s goal is to deny Syrians (even) a morsel of bread,” Mekdad said.

He repeated Damascus’ request for the American forces’ immediate withdrawal from the country’s soil.

Forgoing Damascus’ permission, the US led scores of its allies into Syria under the guise of a so-called anti-Daesh coalition. Numerous reports and official accounts have, however, revealed Washington’s involvement in relocation of Daesh’s elements across Syria and shipment of supplies to them.

On the other hand, Syria has great trust in ally Russia, Mekdad said, adding that Russian President Vladmir Putin had notified his American counterpart Joe Biden that the US had to end its presence in Syria, stop interfering in the Arab country’s domestic affairs, and cease its support for terrorist groups.

In an unrelated development, a car bomb went off in the western Syrian city of Afrin, killing three people, including a young girl, and wounding a number of others, the official Syrian Arab News Agency said.

The blast took place in an area overrun by the Turkish military and the militant groups that run rampage there under Ankara’s protection.

This is not the first time, when areas afflicted with Turkish invasion, witness such terrorist attacks. Four blasts hit the city of Jarablus in the Aleppo Province last month amid continued Turkish incursion in the whereabouts.

Damascus has warned all the invading forces that it was determined to restore its sovereignty over the country’s entire expanse.