Iran's Rouhani slams US plan to control Syria oil

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has expressed concern about the US plan to gain control over Syrian oil reserves, urging more cooperation from Turkey to help the government in Damascus.

Rouhani made the remarks in a bilateral meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Thursday on the sidelines of the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019, where leaders from several Muslim countries have gathered to discuss the ongoing problems facing the Islamic world.

Discussing regional issues, especially the developments in Syria, with Erdogan, Rouhani expressed concern about an attempt by the United States to gain control of Syria’s oil wells, calling for more cooperation between Tehran and Ankara to help the government in Damascus.

Last month, Syria told the United Nations that the US had been occupying its oil fields and looting its resources as the world body remained silent on the act of misappropriation.

US occupying Syria oil wells, looting resources: Damascus envoy to UN

Syria

 "The US occupies Syrian oil wells and plunders the Syrians' revenues in the shadow of the UN Security Council's silence," Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja'afari told a meeting of the 15-member body in New York on November 13.

Ja'afari said the US state terrorism has targeted Syria in a bid to change the region's geopolitical map. "The Syrian war will end when foreign support for terrorism ends," he added.

Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV reported on Monday that a large US military convoy had entered oil fields in northeastern Syria, despite widespread condemnation of the deployment as being tantamount to robbery. The reinforcements, the television said, had been dispatched to the provinces of al-Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr from neighboring Iraq.

US military convoy enters oil fields in northeast Syria

A large US military convoy enters oil fields in northeastern Syria despite condemnation of the deployment as “tantamount to robbery”.

Cooperation on pacification in Idlib

Rouhani, meanwhile, urged cooperation with Damascus towards relieving the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib of the presence of Takfiri terrorist groups and restoration of calm there. The province, which borders Turkey, contains the last concentrations of the groups, which have fled there from collective anti-terror operations by Syria.

The Iranian and Turkish chief executives also addressed the latest state of the bilateral ties and urged that the relations be developed and deepened in all areas, especially the energy, transportation, industrial, trade, and banking sectors.

Rouhani proposes common cryptocurrency for Muslim countries

Earlier on Thursday, Rouhani took part in a roundtable on development priorities and challenges facing Muslim countries, where he proposed establishment of a common cryptocurrency for Muslim states.

With the advent of the new block chain technology, Muslim countries can give birth to the currency through cooperation among their central banks, he said.

Such development across the Muslim world could help it reap the benefits accompanying the use of digital money and hedge against the sharp fluctuations of promissory financial activities, he noted.

Rouhani finally proposed establishment of a venture capital trust fund among Muslim countries that could lend support to all of their startups and modern technology projects.

“The Islamic Republic is prepared for cooperation with other Muslim countries,” he asserted, reminding that the country had reached such a level in the field of defense research and industry that could well defend itself against the threats facing it.

“In some areas, our defense industry can even rival that of advanced countries,” he stated.

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