United Nations _ Agencies
In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem called on us, Turkish and French troops to withdraw immediately from Syria.
"We consider any forces on Syrian territory without a request from the Syrian government, including us, French and Turkish forces, to be occupying forces and will be dealt with on this basis and therefore must withdraw immediately and unconditionally," the teacher said in a letter published by the Syrian agency SANA.
The teacher denounced governments that formed an "illegitimate international coalition led by the United States."
The Syrian foreign minister also announced that "our battle against terrorism is nearing completion", adding that "we are determined to continue the holy battle until all Syrian territory is cleansed of the abomination of terrorism and from any illegal foreign presence."
"The situation on the ground has become more secure and stable thanks to the achievements made against terrorism," he said, adding that "the ground is ripe for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homeland."
"The return of every Syrian is a priority for the Syrian state, and the doors are open to all Syrians abroad for voluntary and safe return," he said, adding "we are already witnessing the return of thousands of Syrians displaced abroad to Syria."
"The Syrian government, with the assistance of Russia, has spared no effort to help these displaced people return and provide them with the basic necessities of life," the foreign minister said. Therefore, a coordinating body has been set up for the return of displaced persons to their areas of origin in the country and enable them to live naturally again. "
"Some Western countries are obstructing the return of these Syrian refugees to their country by intimidating them from returning under flimsy pretexts, politicizing this purely humanitarian dossier and using it as a paper in implementing their political agendas and linking the return of the displaced to the political process," he said.
With regard to reconstruction, the teacher said, "We reaffirm that the priority of participation in reconstruction programmes is for friendly countries that have stood by us in the fight against terrorism, but those countries that link their contribution to reconstruction with preconditions and restrictions or that continue to support terrorism are not invited and Basically welcome. ".
The United States, France and Germany are linking the EU´s assistance to Syria by reaching a political solution to the conflict in the country since 2011.
Diplomats at the United Nations said the agreement recently reached between Russia and Turkey and the Idlib province was a large-scale attack that created an opportunity to move forward in political talks.
However, the teacher stressed that the agreement "is a time-bound agreement and is part of the previous agreements on the areas of tension reduction that resulted from the Astana´s path," and expressed the hope that "the implementation of this agreement will lead to the liquidation of Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations."
UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura expressed his hope that the first meetings of the "Constitutional Committee", which would include representatives of the government and the opposition and tasked with drafting a constitution for Syria, would pave the way for the holding of elections.
The teacher set conditions for Syrian government participation in the Committee, stressing that its framework and mandate are "confined to discussing the articles of the present Constitution", stressing that "no preconditions or conclusions should be imposed on the work of the Commission and the recommendations it can make", and on the rejection of "any notion of interference in affairs The Syrian interior or may lead to that ".
