President Bashar Al Assad received in Damascus the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Muhammad Javad Zarif, that would be a normal and regular bilateral friendly meeting, but at a time of a global lock-down especially on air flights due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic preventive measures, there must be something of top urgency.
Visiting minister Zarif met with his Syrian counterpart Minister Walid Muallem at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs first then they both moved to the Syrian Presidency where President Assad received Minister Zarif. Minister Zarif has an important message to deliver in person to President Assad from the Iranian leadership, and this message cannot be conveyed by a video or phone conference.
Following this meeting in Damascus, the Kremlin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with the Turkish Erdogan by a phone call the recent developments in Syria, preparations for the coming virtual summit, and added that the ‘Presidents renewed their confirmation of the unconditional compliance with the principles of Syrian sovereignty.’
At least, that’s what most political and military observers and analysts are arriving at. The real Axis of Evil led by the USA and its NATO and regional cronies have not stopped their daily war crimes business even during the times when their own countries are ‘allegedly’ facing the pandemic, Saudis continue to bomb Yemen although they claimed they are abiding by a truce due to the pandemic, Israel bombing everywhere even though they failed to establish a government despite three consecutive ‘elections’ and the increasing number of deaths attributed to coronavirus there, Trump forces continue shipping more illegals, weapons, gears, and trying to expand their presence northeast of Syria, and also in the southeast of the country, and the worse of them all the Turkish madman Erdogan continue following his destructive ultra evil dream of dominance on whatever extra inch and whoever extra servant he can get his filthy hands over.
Russian President Putin threw yet one more rope to rescue the Turkish pariah Erdogan early last month March when he accepted to receive him in Moscow and Erdogan, the hypocrite double-faced anti-Islamic Muslim Brotherhood he is, pretended to accept terms to solve the issues with his terrorists presence in the Syrian northwestern province Idlib, something if the Russians believed he would they would erase all the image the world painted about their intelligence and principled foreign policy.
Lebanese Al Mayadeen news channel has a couple of reports in line of the above-mentioned addressing these latest developments, the full transcript of the English translation of the video reports below:
Full transcript of the English translation of the above reports:
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that Turkey’s actions on the ground expose the truth of its intentions by not adhering to the agreements concluded, whether in Astana or Sochi. During his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the political parties discussed, including the Constitutional Committee, the Astana process, and developments in the Syrian north.
As for Zarif, he condemned the current Western attempts to reinvest the issue of chemical weapons in Syria, describing this behavior as shameful.
Zarif’s talks in Damascus come a year after his last visit in the midst of the global air embargo, and he asks many questions and explanations regarding the timing of the visit.
There were no statements by Minister Zarif in the corridors of the Syrian Foreign Ministry after his meeting with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem in front of the cameras that had waited for an hour. It seems Zarif considered sufficient the Iranian Foreign Ministry statement issued before his arrival to discuss bilateral relations, regional and political developments in the anti-terrorism file.
The Syrian Presidency statement, on its part, condemned the political investment exercised by Washington in facing the Corona epidemic and stressed that the meeting dealt with developments in the political track, the Astana process and the developments in Idlib.
However, the implementation of the Moscow protocol is stalled a month after it started without running a single patrol until the moment or removing the militants six kilometers on both sides of the Aleppo-Latakia road, or removing the militants six kilometers on both sides of the Aleppo-Latakia road, it seems that it warranted an Iranian-Syrian consultations to discuss the situation in the province. Iranian positions indicated that the Moscow agreement, in which the Russians rushed the cease-fire in light of the clear field victory for the Syrian army and allies and the approach to wresting control of international roads and reaching the Turkish borders, remains a question in Tehran and Damascus about the extent of the commitment of Ankara, which Damascus still sees as an occupier that is strengthening its occupation by building military bases under the pretext of observation points, as it pledged, and not to be just a new maneuver by the armed groups to mobilize themselves for a new confrontation that does not seem far from now.
Zarif in Damascus is in a declared and speedy visit despite the air embargo measures in all countries of the world. This means that the visit is inseparable in the context of the Syrian-Iranian mistrust about the situation in Idlib, and that there is no compromise on the role of the allies and no sharing of any political or field solution without them.
The above was by Dima Nassif, for Al-Mayadeen from Damascus.
In parallel, the top aide to the Iranian foreign minister for special political affairs, Ali Asghar Haji, said that a meeting would be held via the Internet this week between the foreign ministers of the countries guaranteeing the Astana Accord to discuss the ‘Syrian file.’
Haji confirmed in a statement to Sputnik that he had taken into consideration the holding of an online meeting due to the spread of Coronavirus and the result of important and rapid events in the Syrian file.
Zarif’s visit in the time of Coronavirus indicates the preparation of a new leap in the time of the upcoming Sochi understandings, but the green light for the expected Tehran summit may indicate that Turkey is taking seriously the evacuation of international highways from terrorist groups.
An Insight by Al Mayadeen’s Qasim Izz al-Din:
Minister Zarif indicated that Iran is not abandoning the axis of the resistance after the assassination of General Soleimani, which may suggest affirming the support of the Syrian army in Idlib and the political support for Syria in rapprochement with Turkey at the request of Ankara.
The Tehran postponed summit previously overthrown by Turkey by counting on Western countries that supported what it called the right of Turkey in Idlib, so Ankara invited it to a summit that did not know success in Istanbul. But the Syrian army’s insistence on opening international roads and liberating Saraqib upset the equations, and pushed Erdogan to pledge again at the recent Moscow summit to separate terrorist groups from ‘moderate Turkish factions’.
Syria’s willingness to restore international roads with Russian-Iranian support has narrowed the margin of Turkish maneuvering on betting on time in the hope of avoiding the collision with Jabhat al-Nusra, but what can be postponed for a month cannot be postponed forever.
Between the options of implementing the Sochi and Moscow understandings or opening the roads by force, Turkey appears to have no choice but to dissolve the al-Nusra Front or integrate it into the Spring Shield groups away from international roads or engage them with groups against dissidents such as the Hurras Uddin.
The agreement on the upcoming Tehran summit indicates Turkey’s progress in implementing the Moscow understandings, as well as a new leap in the Tehran summit towards a political solution and reconstruction in Syria.
In the event of Ankara’s delay, the Syrian army will complete the path by restoring roads and lands.
End of the English transcript of the report’s translation.
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