Al-Shaibani: There is a common desire between Syria and Russia to establish new relations.

Moscow, SANA – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani stressed that the meetings held with senior Russian officials, headed by President Vladimir Putin, were fruitful and reflected a common will to strengthen bilateral relations and open a new chapter of cooperation.

“Our visit to Moscow is the first of its kind since the fall of the former regime and the liberation of Syria on December 8,” Minister Al-Shaibani said in a speech yesterday during a dinner he hosted for Arab ambassadors to Russia in the capital, Moscow, adding: “Our talks today with several officials in Russia, including the head of intelligence, the minister of defense, the minister of foreign affairs, and President Vladimir Putin, were very good, and there is a common desire between Syria and Russia to open new relations, turn the page on the past, and transform the historical relationship between the Syrian and Russian peoples into common interests.”

Minister al-Shaibani went on to say: “We in modern Syria want to benefit from all countries in the region and the world, both traditional and new partners. As you know, Syria has emerged from a 14-year war that left a very heavy legacy for the new government. Half of the Syrian people are displaced or refugees, and four million homes have been destroyed, in addition to economic sanctions.”

“Despite these difficult circumstances, we have been able in the past period to focus our efforts on lifting the economic sanctions, and we have succeeded, thanks to the steadfastness of our people and the support of the Arab countries and the international community, in giving Syria an opportunity to rebuild itself,” the Minister said.
The Syrian people are tired of wars, and we want to focus on rebuilding Syria. This vision requires calm and stability in the region, and to achieve balance in political relations with the Arab world, regional countries, and the international community.

“For the first time, Syria has balanced relations with the East and the West, and has good relations with Russia, China, European countries, and the United States,” Al-Shaibani stressed.

He stated that one of the challenges we face is that there are countries that aspire for Syria to be an arena of conflict or an arena for settling regional and international scores, and we reject that.There are parties and countries that do not want Syria to be stable, including well-known countries such as Israel in the region, and the partition card that is continuously used.

The Minister pointed out that the Syrian people have been diverse for thousands of years. There is no majority or minority. There are the Syrian people in all their diversity: Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and all sects. The Syrian government has recognized this diversity and represented it in the government, and it will soon be represented in parliament.

“We are working hard to restore trust among the Syrian people, a trust that the former regime used to divide the Syrian people, using one group to undermine another. We do not want our country to be divided along sectarian or militia lines, and we do not want there to be groups outside the law,” the Foreign Minister emphasized.
Al-Shaibani added: “From the first day, we were keen to ensure that weapons inside Syrian territory were under the control of the army.

He said that there may have been weapons in specific areas and there were areas outside the control of the former regime, but today, with the disappearance of the reasons that divided Syria, there is a great need for Syria to return to being one and united.

Minister al-Shaibani affirmed: “We recognize the rights of all minorities, and there is no marginalization of any group, including the Kurds, Druze, Alawites, and Christians. The Syrian government today, headed by His Excellency President Ahmad al-Sharaa, recognizes this diversity, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone has equal rights, without any privilege for one group or one region at the expense of another.”

The Minister clarified that no country accepts that the sectarian card be exploited within it, noting that the Syrian state is being targeted and prevented from imposing stability and security through legal means.

Fedaa