"Unilateral coercive measures imposed by some countries clearly violate international law. The humanitarian exemptions they repeatedly invoke do not exist on the ground. […] We call on all affected countries and those that reject such measures to close ranks against them and alleviate their impact on our peoples. This should happen through cooperation, coordination and concrete political, economic and commercial means," Muallem said at the UN General Assembly.
He said that relevant UN Security Council resolutions still need to find their way from the archives to real implementation.
"Political agendas continue to take precedence over humanitarian agendas. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the world the unilateral coercive measures imposed on the Syrian people and other peoples are being renewed instead of lifted," Muallem said, adding that new restrictive measures are also being added, "under false pretexts."
US and Turkish Presence in Syria
Muallem accused Turkey of being the main sponsor of regional terrorism, saying that Syria will spare no effort to end the illegitimate presence of Turkish, as well as US, forces on Syrian soil.
"There are those who invest in, support and fuel terrorism moving terrorists from one region to another and from one country to another, all in the service of their suspicious agendas. Of course, when it comes to sponsors and financiers of terrorism, the current Turkish regime reigns supreme. The Turkish regime is one of the main sponsors of terror in Syria and the region. It has facilitated the passage of tens of thousands of foreign terrorists into Syria and continues to provide all forms of support to Al Nusra Front and affiliated terrorist groups that have massacred Syrians," Muallem said.
The Syrian foreign minister stressed that deliveries of medical equipment to Syria are blocked and domestic efforts to fight terrorism in Syria are being obstructed. "Oil fields are looted," Muallem said, adding that access to food, heating, gas, and electricity is blocked for Syrian people.
"The continued illegitimate presence of American and Turkish forces on Syrian soil meets all the legal conditions of an occupation. The Syrian Arab Republic will spare no effort to end this occupation by all means possible under international law. The actions of these forces taken directly or through their terrorist agents, secessionist militias, or manufactured and illegitimate entities are null and void, with no legal effect. They are a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," Muallem said, adding that Syria condemns all the crimes of the global coalition, including the "siphoning of oil."
The foreign minister said that unilateral coercive measures imposed on the Syrian people "is an inhumane attempt to suffocate Syrians just like George Floyd and others were cruelly suffocated in the United States."
