US Actions in Syria Infringe on Nation's Sovereignty

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — Faisal Mekhad said that the US air campaign in Syria is a flagrant violation of the country’s territorial integrity and has nothing to do with fighting terrorism.

“The actions of the US Air Force and now the deployment of so-called US experts [special ops troops] is a flagrant violation of Syria’s territorial integrity. We do not think they are sincere about wanting to fight terrorism,” Mekdad said.

US President Barack Obama said on Monday that a small contingent of special operations forces had been sent to Syria to help allied militant groups in their fight against Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh, outlawed in Russia).

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad also said that Saudi Arabia "has not been and will not be part of the fight against terrorism, because it is the state that supports terrorism."

Syria is strongly against participation in religious or sectarian coalitions, including in the anti-terror coalition of Muslim nations initiated by Saudi Arabia, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said.

"We are strongly against participation in a coalition with a pseudo-confessional or religious basis. Daesh (Islamic State, outlawed in Russia) uses religious slogans to justify its existence. I do not think that there is any difference between Daesh and the government of Saudi Arabia that uses the same techniques," told RIA Novosti.

According to the deputy minister, Saudi Arabia "has not been and will not be part of the fight against terrorism, because it is the state that supports terrorism."

Saudi Arabia earlier announced the establishment of a 34-member anti-terrorism Islamic military alliance, which includes Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan, among other nations. The alliance will target "any terrorist organization, not just ISIL [Islamic State]," according to Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman.

 

Mekdad said that the Syrian government has no plans to meet with the opposition forces that took part in the talks in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Syrian opposition delegates met in Riyadh on December 10. They have offered to meet with the Syrian authorities but have demanded that President Bashar Assad step down.

“Participants of the Saudi conference [on Syria] do not represent the genuine opposition,” Mekdad said, stressing that some of opposition representatives who attended the meeting in Riyadh were terrorists.

“In this regard, we’d like to say that Syria does not negotiate with terrorists, we only meet them in the battlefield,” Mekdad asserted.

The deputy foreign policy chief stressed that Saudi Arabia was not in a position to host gatherings of Syrian opposition forces since it openly condones terrorism. Hence, any agreement reached at the December 10 meeting violates the Geneva and Vienna accords on Syria, he said.