Syria, Russia slam US for supporting terrorists, pledge safe return of Syrian refugees

Syria and Russia say the United States has been obstructing the return of the displaced Syrians to their homeland by financing foreign-sponsored mercenaries and igniting conflict across the Arab country.

The Russian and Syrian Joint Coordination Committees on Repatriation of Syrian Refugees said in a joint statement on Thursday that the US and its allies were constantly placing obstacles on the way to the repartition process by “supporting and financing armed terrorist gangs.”

The statement also strongly censured economic sanctions imposed by the US on Syria in June last year under the so-called Caesar Act, which amounts to a clear violation of international law.

Legal experts say the Caesar sanctions act, which aims to sanction any party that assists the Syrian government, is a flagrant violation of the most basic principles of human rights.

Damascus says the US continues to impede the restoration of stability in the country through the imposition of economic sanctions. It says Washington is using various methods of economic and political pressure on international bodies and organizations to turn a blind eye on the repercussions of such bans.

Elsewhere in the statement, Syria and Russia pledged “to work to create the suitable conditions for voluntary and safe return of refugees to their homeland”. 

They also emphasized that the US had been desperately attempting to undermine “sacrifices of the Syrian people who have heroically fought Daesh terrorist organization and other outfits for the past ten years."

The statement hailed the achievements of the Syrian Armed Forces on the battlefield against foreign-backed militant groups, 

Saleh Abu Izzah, a senior expert in West Asia affairs, recently told Press TV that the United States and Israel were using the economic blockade to achieve what they failed to accomplish in the battlefield of the full-scale war.

The US has carried out regular attacks against Syria since 2011, and imposed a cruel and horrible blockade against Syria under the Caesar Act passed in 2020.

In a letter addressed to the UN secretary general and the president of the Security Council on Wednesday, Syria said Israel’s latest air raid, which coincided with a terror attack against Syrian army troops, proved that the regime commits such aerial acts of aggression in full coordination with terror groups operating on the ground in the Arab country. 

The Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry drew the world body’s attention to the simultaneity of the missile strike on Tuesday near Damascus and a deadly terrorist attack against a bus carrying Syrian government forces in the southwestern province of Dara’a.

The statement also denounced acts of violence by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance of mainly Kurdish militants operating against Damascus. 

The United States has long been providing the SDF with arms and militant training, calling the forces a key partner in the purported fight against the Daesh group. Many observers see the support in the context of Washington's plans to carve out a foothold in Syria.

The security situation is reportedly deteriorating in the areas controlled by the SDF in Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr due to arrests of civilians by the US-sponsored militants.

The United States has also been redeploying troops to oil fields controlled by Kurdish forces in eastern Syria in recent years.

The Pentagon alleges that the move aims to “protect” the fields and facilities from possible attacks by Daesh.

Locals say constant raids by the SDF and the presence of US soldiers have created a state of frustration and instability, severely affecting their livelihood.

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