Iran Press/Asia: Bashar al-Jaafari added that Turkey has not upheld its obligations regarding removing the terrorist organizations from Idlib province.
During a press conference at the conclusion of the talks in Nur Sultan on Friday, al-Jaafari said that the final statement of Astana 12 round included positive points, some of which were discussed for the first time, especially regarding the rejection of declaration of the US administration on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, SANA reported.
He added that the agenda of the 12th round was rich and focused on the fight against terrorism.
“There is terrorism in Idlib, which is recognized by everyone, including those who attended the Astana meetings, even the Turkish delegation, because that delegation admits that 85% of terrorists in Idlib are from Jabhat al-Nusra, and everyone knows that the Turkish regime supports this terror organization and other groups affiliated to it in Idlib,” he stressed.
Al-Jaafari affirmed that the Turkish side should ensure the separation of terrorist groups from 'moderate armed groups' and remove the terrorist organizations from Idlib.
He noted that the Sochi agreement stipulates for the Turkish side to withdraw terrorist groups to the west by 15-20 km in order to reopen the Aleppo-Idlib-Damascus highway and clear that area of terrorists, but Turkey has not implemented this.
Al-Jaafari also said that all the unilateral coercive economic measures by the United States and the European Union against Syria are illegal because they were not issued by the UN Security Council, considering those measures as an economic terrorism added to the diplomatic and political terrorism carried out by these countries.
He added that the dilemma in the Astana talks is represented by the lack of seriousness of the Turkish side in fulfilling its pledges and commitments.
Al-Jaafari reiterated that the presence of American, French, British, and Turkish forces on Syrian territory without the Syrian government’s request is illegal and they must leave Syria immediately.
On Nov 29, 2018, three guarantor countries of the Astana process in their final statement stressed on their commitments to preserve Syrian sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity and need to continue fighting all terror groups in the country.
International meeting on Syria (Astana 11)
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He stressed that Turkey now occupies about 6,000 square kilometres of Syrian territory in the north of the country, including Efrin, Jarablos, and other towns, not to mention Idlib, and is now constructing a 70-km-long wall to separate Manbej from Aleppo and imposing Turkish language in Syrian schools, which makes Turkey’s occupation of Syrian territory four times worse than Israeli occupation in terms of area.
He underlined that the Turkish regime provided terrorist organizations in Idlib with dozens of rocket launchers and toxic materials to use them against civilians and accuse the Syrian Arab Army of doing that, and that terrorists are currently stockpiling chemicals in Idlib with the intent of using them if the Syrian Arab Army and its allies decide to liberate the province from terrorism.
“A meeting for terrorist organizations in Idlib was held a few days ago in the border town of Atma with Turkish directives and in the presence of Turkish intelligence, which gave instructions on how to act if the Syrian Arab Army and its allies set out to liberate Idlib from terrorism,” al-Jaafari added.
“Syria will not allow anyone to work towards dividing it, and this is a red line, and these policies which violate international law will not succeed in any part of Syria,” he said.
Al-Jaafari added that a recent OCHA survey confirms that more than 95% of the civilians in al-Rukban Camp want to return to their homes, which means that the United States is holding 95% of the displaced Syrians in the camp hostage in order to blackmail the Syrian government.
Russia, Iran, and Turkey plan to convene the first meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva early in 2019, says a statement by the foreign ministers of the ‘Astana trio’ (Russia, Iran, and Turkey) read out by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after the talks in Geneva.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country. 105/211/201
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