DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad announced on Thursday that his country is ready to welcome any initiative to restore relations with Arab countries.
“The work of the United Nations General Assembly has shown regressions in the hostile speeches by the member states about Syria,” the official SANA agency quoted Mekdad as saying.
Pointing to what he described as a “change in the international political atmosphere towards Damascus,” Mekdad said that the latter was reflecting the “Syrian Arab Army’s achievements in cooperation with its allies in the field of combating terrorism, and restoring security and stability throughout the country.”
The Syrian minister stressed that his country was “open to honest and impartial political initiatives or efforts to help overcome the current crisis, and achieve stability.”
Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have sought to restore Syria’s membership in the Arab League.
In 2018, the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus, followed by Bahrain which said the Syrian Embassy in Manama was operating as usual.
“Despite COVID-19 restrictions, we held several face-to-face meetings with Western and Arab foreign ministers as well as UN officials during the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. These unprecedented meetings, coupled with active public events, clearly show that the international community has come to realize that Syria will neither capitulate to pressure nor any political conditions even though it is ready to normalize its diplomatic relations,” Mekdad pointed out.
Since 2011, Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy, leading to the emergence of Daesh and other terrorist groups in the Arab country.
The Syrian government has repeatedly condemned the U.S. and the EU for waging economic terrorism on the country through their unilateral sanctions, holding them responsible for the suffering of the Syrian people, especially now that the country is grappling with a deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Damascus has also been critical of the United Nations for keeping silent on the destructive role of the U.S. and EU, among other parties supporting terrorism in Syria.