Mr. President,
I would like to thank my colleague, the Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic, for presiding over the work of the Council this month.
Mr. president,
All Security Council’s resolutions pertaining to the situation in my country, Syria, have stressed an inevitable conclusion; that is, the need for the full commitment by all Member States, both inside and outside this Council, to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. However, eight years after the adoption of its first relevant resolution, the Security Council is still unable to enforce respect for this fundamental principle that formed the chapeau of your resolutions, and on which no realistic and sustainable solution to the crisis can be envisaged without full reliance upon it.
Mr. President,
Nine years have passed since the so-called "Syrian crisis", which is in fact a barbaric and terrorist war waged by the governments of well-known states that have espoused the game of hegemony and sought to legalize interference in the affairs of Syria and other countries of our region and the shedding of the blood of their sons under false and shiny pretexts.
Nine years have passed where a wide range of weaponry have been employed against my country, be it large-scale information and media warfare, an investment in terrorism, the sponsorship of criminal takfiri organizations, direct military interventions, bombing, aggression and occupation by the United States, France, UK, Turkey and Israel- including the recent Israeli aggression two days ago, which killed three civilians and wounded three others- or economic terrorism and collective punishment of the Syrian people through the imposition of unilateral coercive measures, all of which constitute a flagrant violation of international law and the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, and a challenge to the mandate of the Security Council and its ability to fulfill its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security.
Mr. President,
I have repeatedly briefed this council over the past years on the situation in my country. Therefore, the unjust war of aggression that we are experiencing is no secret to anyone, and no one can be fooled by what some member states hostile to my country in this Council are promoting, nor can you imagine that the silence of your Council will mean our acceptance of the plans that the permanent Western member states of this Council are seeking to impose on our peoples and our region.
In this context, we reiterate that we will not shy away from upholding the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, no matter how intense the pressure is. Furthermore, we will not abandon the liberation of our occupied territories, whether occupied by the United States, Turkey, Israel or their affiliated terrorist organizations. We also stress that any presence of foreign military forces on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic without the explicit consent of the Syrian Government is an act of aggression and occupation, and will be dealt with as such in accordance with our rights under international law.
In this regard, Syria condemns the continuous Turkish attacks on Syrian sovereignty, and the failure of the Turkish regime to implement its commitments under the Moscow Agreement, and before it, the Sochi and Astana understandings, and its continued occupation of Syrian territory and its support for terrorism.
Mr. President,
Not only did the Turkish Regime support the armed terrorist groups affiliated with many organizations that it transferred to Idleb province, it also shamelessly reinforced its illegitimate military presence on the territory of my country by allowing the access of convoys loaded with weapons and many other heavy equipment on a daily basis across the borders to support the armed terrorist groups.
That was not all! The Turkish minister of defense recently infiltrated into the Syrian province of Idleb to hold meetings with leaders of some terrorist organizations operating there with the aim of continuing the investment in terrorism and preparation of upcoming rounds of armed confrontations.
In this regard, the representatives of countries participating that meeting realize that many infantry units of the Turkish forces entered the occupied Syrian territories and even Turkish air defense systems are being deployed. Turkey has reinforced its military forces in Idleb with “Hawk” anti-aircraft missiles that were sent from the United States of America in a clear violation of the International law and the United Nations charter.
The presence of Turkish air-defense systems in the Syrian province of Idleb proves the real aims of Turkey; sustaining its occupation of the Syrian territories especially that the sole aim of deploying these air- defense systems on the occupied Syrian territories is undoubtedly destroying the big air targets of planes and helicopters. This clearly means that these missiles will not be used against the radical terrorist groups that are in fact allies of the Turkish regime.
My delegation warns against the dangerous and grave consequences if these Turkish air- defense systems fall into the hands of the terrorist organizations operating in Idleb such as “Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham”, “Hay’at Hurras Al-Din” and the “Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria”.
Mr. President,
For years, the Turkish regime has recruited tens of thousands of terrorists from Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkmen, Uighurs and others and brought them to my country, yet many theoreticians at this Council and the Secretariat have been color blinded as they have not been referring to this terrorist activity in any of their reports or briefings. The Turkish regime is now expanding its sponsorship of terrorism by recruiting foreign and Syrian terrorists to fight in Libya for $1,500 per terrorist and transporting thousands of terrorists by Turkish aircrafts to Libya without deterrence or accountability. The world's media have been flooded with images of hundreds of terrorists that Erdogan transported to Libya and were killed there. My European colleagues in this Council know the magnitude of the threat this Turkish behavior poses to the security of Europe and the world, but their NATO alliance with Turkey has prompted them to impose silence of the grave on the Security Council, therefore, limiting its ability to fulfill its mandate.
The Syrian Arab Republic reiterates the necessity of not allowing the Turkish regime to cross the red lines in the Syrian province of Idleb, and that it must immediately stop its clear support of the armed terrorist groups, in addition to take stances consistent with the United Nations charter and the Security Council resolutions as well as rescind its policies aiming at sustaining its occupation of the Syrian territories.
In this context, and in order to maintain the credibility of the Security Council and respect the international support of Moscow Agreement, both political and military Turkish leaderships must focus on implementing this agreement instead of evading their responsibilities of effecting it.
Mr. President,
The terrorist groups took advantage of the calm period following Moscow Agreement and the international concern of combating Coronavirus pandemic in order to reorganize their forces with the main support of the American and Turkish occupation forces. In mid-April, the leadership of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham / Al-Nusra Front, announced that it reorganized its forces and formed three new brigades in preparation for upcoming confrontations in north-west Syria.
This reaffirms the necessity that this Council should commit states to stop supporting terrorism as well as the absolute priority of supporting the efforts of the Syrian state in fighting terrorism and eradicating this tumor from the Syrian body in order to complete the restoration of security and stability and achieving the most hoped Syrian owned and led solution without any foreign interference.
Thank You Mr. President