MEP censures US, EU ‘arrogance’ towards crisis-hit Syria

A member of the European Parliament (MEP) has condemned US and European policies on Syria, calling on the West to stop interfering in the Arab country.

Deputy chairman for the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament Javier Couso made the remarks during a meeting with new speaker of the Syrian People’s Assembly Hadiyeh Khalaf Abbas in Damascus on Saturday.

Heading a five-member delegation from the European Parliament during the visit to Syria, Couso stressed that Syria’s sovereignty should not be infringed upon by any other country.

“We’ve come to Syria to have talks with the Syrian government and People’s Assembly. We are also here to know about the status quo of local religious leaders, hospitals and ordinary folks. We think that no country should interfere in other countries’ affairs,” he said.

Couso also noted that the Syrian people have the right to decide their country’s future and choose their head of state.

The lawmaker further urged Europe to lift its sanctions on Syria, noting that the Syrian government has been largely blackballed by Western governments.

He expressed hope that his report of the ground situation in Syria to the European Parliament would make the legislature remove its anti- Syria bans as soon as possible.

Terrorism is not an isolated problem with Syria alone as the scourge has also hit Europe and claimed civilian lives there, the MEP added.

He further voiced his support for the peace talks between Damascus and the opposition, saying he is firmly opposed to any compromise with anti-government forces with terrorism background.

A ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia went into effect in Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to the Nusra Front and Daesh terrorist groups.

However, renewed violence in some parts of Syria, particularly around Aleppo, has recently left the truce in tatters and torpedoed the peace talks.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since March 2011. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in the Middle Eastern state, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

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