26-04-2024 07:58 PM Jerusalem Timing

Mikdad: US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia Want to Blow up Geneva II Conference

Mikdad: US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia Want to Blow up Geneva  II Conference

Syrian deputy Foreign Minister, Fayssal al-Mikdad, stressed that the Syrian delegation participating in Geneva 2 conference to make it a success upon the directives of President Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian deputy foreign minister Fayssal MikdadSyrian deputy Foreign Minister, Fayssal al-Mikdad, stressed that the Syrian delegation participating in Geneva 2 conference to make it a success upon the directives of President Bashar al-Assad and to exert all possible efforts to stop violence, SANA reported.

"It is noticeable that the US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which have failed even to bring a tiny part of the so-called 'opposition', want to blow up this conference after they had felt being lost caused by the children they sent for negotiations,” Mikdad told journalists in a statement.

“Syria’s official delegation will remain in Geneva and will exert every possible effort, whether through the UN or through the Russian friends, to start work as soon as possible because we have a principled and strong message from President Bashar al-Assad to make this conference a success and to work for halting bloodshed and foreign intervention,” He added.

Mikdad said that an agreement over a specific formula was reached with UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, and that matters are in the stage of preparations and logistic details.

He explained that according to the arrangements made by Brahimi, there was supposed to be a meeting in a single room between the Syrian Arab Republic's delegation and the delegation of the so-called opposition's coalition which would be attended by Brahimi, but the other side doesn't want to attend this meeting.

"We don't want further complications; we want the opposition's representation to be credible, meaning that it should represent all spectra of the Syrian opposition on the ground which have gravity and influence," Mikdad said, saying that the problem lies in the composition of the coalition's delegation, adding "this is why we're wondering: with whom are we going to sit now?"

Moreover, the Syrian diplomat stressed that the official delegation isn't going to say a single word that may lead to complications with the arrangements Brahimi made on Thursday.

"We came to Geneva to stop terrorism and stand for human rights as an international value," Mikdad noted further.

Mikdad stressed that the delegation came to present the civilized image of Syria, only to find the speeches by the foreign ministers of the US, France, Britain, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who all spoke – particularly Saudi Arabia and Turkey – like war criminals, saying "they must be held accountable as war criminals because they are the ones who provided the tools for killing currently being used by their pawns in Syria to murder the Syrian people."

In response to a question on the arguments within the coalition's delegation, Mikdad said that this delegation represents its own personal interests only, and that the official Syrian delegation is waiting to hold talks with credible people representing a broad and honorable spectrum in the Syrian opposition, not with those who lost legitimacy even among their own children and families.