The occupation of the republic’s territories by Americans and their allies is delaying a return to peaceful life in the country.
Russia and Syria call on the U.S. to immediately transfer control over all territories illegally occupied in the republic to the government in Damascus, according to a joint statement of the interdepartmental coordination headquarters of the two countries on the return of refugees to the republic.
“We call on the U.S. side to stop its destabilizing influence on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, strictly observe international law, principles of the United Nations and immediately transfer control over all illegally occupied Syrian territories to the Syrian government. The continued occupation of Syrian territories by the United States and its allies only increases the suffering of civilians and delays the return to peaceful life in the country”, – the document circulated on Friday said.
It was noted that despite the tremendous work carried out by the Syrian government to restore the country’s infrastructure destroyed during the war years and ensure the safety of citizens, “the U.S. and its allies continue to hinder the stabilization of the situation in the country by any means.
“Expressing their desire to help the Syrian people, Western countries are unwilling to lift the anti-Syrian sanctions imposed in violation of international law, “crippling” the country’s economy and preventing its post-conflict reconstruction. The theme of the need to provide assistance to the population of Syria only through cross-border humanitarian corridors is being actively promoted, which shows the intention to continue supporting the enclaves controlled by the militants in order to maintain hotbeds of tension in the country”, – the document says.
Moscow and Damascus note: now most of Syria is under the control of the Syrian authorities, and the cross-border mechanism has lost its relevance, which allows moving to the delivery of necessary humanitarian assistance, including to the Idlib de-escalation zone, through the territories controlled by the legitimate government of Syria.
“In that regard, the adoption by the United Nations Security Council of resolution 2139, extending the cross-border mechanism to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria using only one crossing point, Bab al-Hawa, on the Syrian-Turkish border, was an important step. And only thanks to the consistent position of Russia and China was it possible to approve a final document that takes into account the real situation “on the ground”, – the statement says.
The parties believe that “in implementing the adopted resolution, the delivery of any humanitarian aid to the population of Idlib province should be coordinated with the Syrian authorities and the lists of organizations distributing humanitarian goods should be specified. “It is important to exclude the use of a cross-border mechanism to supply militants of terrorist organizations that use UN humanitarian assistance as leverage for civilians and openly profit from supplies,” the document said.
This state of affairs, it said, continues to exist in the Ruqban refugee camp in the U.S. occupied 55-kilometer zone of Et Thanf.
Here, “militants controlled by the U.S. side intentionally create conditions under which people who do not want to fight and be members of any groups, do not receive food and medical care.
“This is evidenced, among other things, by the testimony of militants of the armed band Maghavir al-Saura who broke into the territory controlled by the Syrian government. According to them, as the only way to survive in Ruqban and feed their families, the male population is forced to join the ranks of U.S.-controlled armed groups”, – the statement said.
The document was signed by the heads of the inter-agency coordination headquarters for the return of refugees to Syria. The statement was signed from Russia by head of the National Defense Management Center of Russia Mikhail Mizintsev, while from Syria – Minister of Municipal Administration and Environment Hussein Mahlouf.