The Foreign Ministers of the United States and Western Europe issued a statement timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the outbreak of the armed conflict in Syria.

In it, Western diplomats blame Bashar al-Assad and his supporters for the situation in the country, and also oppose the proposed presidential elections in Syria this year.

The document notes that the conflict allegedly began after "the Syrian people took to the streets with a peaceful call for reform."

The statement was circulated on behalf of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, British Foreign Minister Dominique Raab, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, as well as German Foreign Ministers Heiko Maas and Italy Luigi Di Maio.

“The presidential elections in Syria, which are proposed to be held this year, will not be free or fair.

They will not lead to any normalization of international relations with the Syrian regime.

Any political process requires the participation of all Syrians, including the diaspora and displaced persons, so that everyone's voice is heard, ”the statement reads, the text of which was published on the website of the US State Department.

The foreign ministers also stressed that their countries "commit to intensify efforts to find a peaceful solution that will protect the rights and future prosperity of all Syrians based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254."

This resolution establishes as a fundamental principle that the future of Syria will be determined by the Syrian people themselves.

In addition, it recognizes the role of the International Syria Support Group as a central platform for helping the UN to achieve a lasting political settlement in Syria.

The Foreign Ministers of the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy also said in a statement that they "will not tolerate Syria's non-compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and fully support the work of the OPCW in this regard."

The document also says that these countries will "call for a national ceasefire, ensuring unhindered humanitarian access to those in need along all possible routes", as well as "for the release of arbitrarily detained persons and the holding of free and fair elections under the auspices of the UN with the participation of all Syrians, including representatives of the diaspora ”.

Ten year war

In Syria, an armed conflict has been going on for 10 years between government forces and a number of armed groups and terrorist organizations, which are regarded by Western countries as the Syrian opposition.

In 2011, against the background of the events of the "Arab Spring" in the Middle East, anti-government demonstrations with the informational support of Western media began in Syria.

They quickly escalated into armed clashes with the security forces, and the opposition formed armed groups.

In the SAR, radical Islamist groups became more active - for example, Jabhat al-Nusra *, which at that time was considered the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda **.

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In 2014, the terrorist organization "Islamic State" *** (the original name was "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant") took root in Syria and Iraq.

The terrorists managed to capture the large Iraqi city of Mosul, as well as part of the territory of the SAR.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, in 2015 the IS group controlled about 70% of the territory of Syria.

In addition, terrorists have taken over a large part of Iraq. 

This group attracted attention with the utmost intolerance towards all who did not share its religious views - especially Christians and Shia Muslims.

Terrorists staged brutal demonstration executions, videos of which were circulated on the Internet.

In 2015, the Syrian government turned to Russia for help.

The Federation Council of the Russian Federation unanimously approved the request of President Vladimir Putin for the use of the country's armed forces outside its territory, which made it possible to launch a military operation in Syria on the same day at the request of the legitimate authorities of the country.

In September 2015, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft began to strike at IS positions in Syria.

In the province of Latakia, at the Khmeimim airfield, a base for a Russian aviation group was organized.

The operation was also attended by ships of the Russian Navy, striking the positions of the militants with cruise missiles "Caliber" from the waters of the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas.

  • Consequences of the armed conflict in Syria

  • Reuters

  • © SANA

The participation of Russian forces made it possible to turn the tide - in 2017, almost the entire territory of Syria was freed from terrorists.

However, the militants maintained a presence in four regions, the largest of which was the province of Idlib on the border with Turkey.

At the same time, Russia, Iran and Turkey have created the so-called Astana format of negotiations on the situation in Syria.

Within the framework of this format, a memorandum was signed on the creation of conflict de-escalation zones in the country under the control of the guarantors of the armistice in the person of Moscow, Tehran and Ankara.

Shortly thereafter, in 2018, Russia and Turkey agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib.

At the end of 2019, militants again intensified in the province.

Government forces launched an offensive against their positions.

This created a tense situation in relations with Turkey, but in 2020 the parties signed a ceasefire agreement.

Illegal interference

The statement by the foreign ministers of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy can be regarded as an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria, said Alexander Vavilov, an expert on the Middle East, professor at Moscow State University.

“Elections and non-interference of external forces in them is the right of every state, on which its sovereignty is based.

Syria is a full member of the UN, a generally recognized sovereign state, therefore, when the government in the country wants, then it will hold presidential elections, "Vavilov emphasized in an interview with RT.

  • Consequences of the armed conflict in Syria

  • © REUTERS / Omar Sanadiki

According to the expert, it can be expected that appeals to the international community not to recognize the election results will hang in the air.

"Now the West is making such statements because it understands that apart from Assad there is no presidential candidate who could lead the work to rebuild Syria, which has collapsed through the efforts of Western and regional forces," the political scientist said.

France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain, by signing such statements, demonstrate Euro-Atlantic solidarity and support for the US course, added Alexander Vavilov.

“Western countries are trying to strengthen their positions in a strategically important part of the region, where significant oil reserves are located.

They are ready to impose their will in order to create a vassal state afterwards, and then divide it into parts.

In fact, the West is not interested in either the welfare of the Syrian people or the fate of Syria, but is trying to achieve a change of power, ”the expert said.

In turn, HSE professor Alexander Domrin, in a commentary on RT, noted that the foreign ministers of Western countries in their statement do not offer any alternative to holding the presidential elections.

“Given that there is no opposition leader in Syria, as was the case in Venezuela, whom the Western coalition could promote, Western countries are trying to interfere in the internal affairs of this sovereign country,” the political scientist explained.

Domrin recalled that the United States and its allies from a number of European countries had already tried to remove Assad by military means, but they failed, and he was re-elected.

“Realizing that this situation may repeat itself, they are trying to make sure that the elections this year are not held.

But Assad is the most popular candidate for the presidency.

Therefore, we can expect that the absolutely legitimate and democratic voting majority of the Syrian people will vote for him, ”the expert noted.

“Western countries would like Assad to pursue a course dependent on them.

However, over the past 10 years, on the contrary, he has demonstrated independence in decision-making, including when he invited Russia to defend the independence of his country, ”the expert concluded.

* "Jabhat al-Nusra" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.

** "Al-Qaeda" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.

*** 

"Islamic State" (IS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.