Posted on February 16, 2014 by Alexandra Valiente
Al-Moallem: Second round of talks achieved very important point thanks to awareness of Syrian negotiators
Feb 16, 2014
Syrian official delegation’s plane, (SANA delegate)
Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, said that the second round of talks in the Geneva conference did not fail, contrary to the some media analysis or the reactions of the French and British foreign ministers.
Feb 16, 2014
Syrian official delegation’s plane, (SANA delegate)
Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, said that the second round of talks in the Geneva conference did not fail, contrary to the some media analysis or the reactions of the French and British foreign ministers.
Al-Moallem said that the second round achieved a very important point thanks to the awareness of Syrian negotiators when they announced Syria’s agreement to the agenda proposed by UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi which starts off by rejecting violence and combating terrorism.
He reiterated that talks did not fail; rather they resulted in what the Syrian official delegation always demanded which is an agenda for upcoming Geneva meetings.
On the premade orchestra in which the French and British foreign ministers held the Syrian Arab Republic delegation responsible for the failure of talks, al-Moallem said that this isn’t surprising as France and Britain have always been part of the conspiracy against Syria, noting that they made their accusations even before they were informed about what happened in the talks.
Regarding the arming of the opposition, al-Moallem noted that the US has announced its funding and arming of what it calls “moderate opposition” since the beginning of the first round of talks, describing this as “amusing.”
“The United States tried to create very negative atmospheres for dialogue in Geneva, but this didn’t dissuade our delegation from moving forward with constructive dialogue to reach results,” he said, adding thatthose who think that the US stopped or will stop conspiring against Syria are delusional, as the US has always been conspiring against Syria due to the Syrian people’s steadfastness in the face of Israel, and as long as Syria is confronting Israel, then the US will continue to conspire against it.
On whether this conspiring will reach the point of a direct US military aggression, al-Moallem said that such talk is mere media and psychological warfare aiming at pressuring the Syrian negotiator to hand over what the coalition delegation came to receive, adding “this is a delusion that will never happen.”
In response to a question on the French and American losses after the Geneva talks, the Minister said that Syrian Arab Republic delegation went to Geneva only to achieve the aspirations of the Syrian people by finding a solution to the crisis in Syria and relay the Syrians’ desire for the cessation of violence and terrorism.
Al-Moallem said that the US was very much in a rush to hand over power before carrying out any political work, because its pawns on the inside failed on the ground, adding “I believe that this delusional they planted in the minds of members of the coalition has failed, but that doesn’t mean that they stopped conspiring.”
On the Russian position towards the talks in Geneva, al-Moallem said that Russia has been fully informed on daily basis about the results of each session, which is why it wasn’t surprised by what happened.
Regarding his expectations on what Brahimi will submit to the UN in his report, the Minister said that Brahimi prefaced his report in his recent press conference, stressing that Brahimi, as a mediator, must be impartial, noting that Brahimi’s press conference indicates that he will be impartial, and adding that the minutes of the sessions are available.
He stressed the need for Brahimi to be committed to continuing this process, whether in a third or fourth round or something else, saying that those that one session will be enough to resolve an issue as complicated as the Syrian issue – which is becoming more complex with every day due to foreign interference – are delusional.
“An impartial mediator is the one that commits to the continuation of this process until it reaches it purposes, whether the Geneva processes continues or through talks that will be held between this round and the coming round,” the Minister said.
On Wendy Sherman’s statement that the document presented by the coalition is good, al-Moallem said that the coalition didn’t present a document; rather they read an interposition, asserting that the decision about the presidency isn’t up to Sherman or the coalition delegation, as this decision belongs to the Syrian people who alone have the right to decide upon Syria’s future.
“As for the interim government, we have full studies based on laws and the standing constitution with which we can argue their biggest legal advisors,” he added.
In response to the statement by British Foreign Minister William Hague who said that not reaching an agenda for the next stage is a very serious matter and his blaming the Syrian official delegation for this, al-Moallem said “I’d rather not respond to him, because he is ignorant about what happened during the talks. The agenda proposed by Brahimi is clear, and the Syrian delegation agreed to it.”
Back on the topic of talk of a wide-scale US military action against Syria, al-Moallem opined that it’s very unlikely that there will be any wide-scale or small-scale military action, as the Americans have their pawns who fight on their behalf and receive paychecks and weapons, so why would they involve themselves directly?
He added that the American side was surprised by the achievements made by the Syrian Arab Army, by the reconciliations talking place, and the resilience of the Syrian Arab Republic delegation in talks.
On whether the Syrian Arab Republic delegation is ready at any time to discuss the interim government, al-Moallem affirmed that the delegation is prepared to discuss this issue when its time comes in the agenda, reiterating that the interim government will not be discussed before finding out if the other delegation is against terrorism and not with it.
“Some would ask if the coalition delegation can stop violence and terrorism in Syria when it doesn’t have a popular base or a base among the armed groups? Our answer, quite simply, is thatwe know that this delegation cannot stop violence and terrorism. However,we are addressing its employers who are the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. When this delegation agrees to stopping terrorism, this means that its employers agreed to stop terrorism, therefore this agreement must oblige them to stop funding, arming and training terrorists,” he said.
On whether the Syrian government is worried over what is happening in the southern front of the Syrian borders, al-Moallem said that those who love their country must always be worried about it, but nothing is currently different what has been happening for over two years; as the smuggling of arms and terrorists from the south and the attempts to attack the Syrian people continue, but the Syrian leadership and the Syrian Arab Army will be ready for them.
Al-Moallem concluded by thanking the accompanying media delegation which relayed to the Syrian people the truth about what was happening in the meetings.
Al-Moallem: Second round of Geneva talks did not fail