August 3, 2012 (TSR) – Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Qadri Jamil, said Syria is facign an unfair Western economic blockade, stressing that the Western and U.S. sanctions on Syria target the Syrian people in their livelihood.
In a press conference in the Russian capital following meeting Russian officials, Jamil described the talks in Moscow as “constructive” as both sides agreed on boosting economic cooperation between Syria and Russia in various areas.
THE DEAL:
To alleviate the diesel oil (D2) deficiency, Syria will deliver their crude oil and receive Russian gasoline and fuel oil as barter. They also had asked for financial loan from Russia to which the size and terms would be decided “within weeks”.
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“Russia wants to help and support the Syrian people to overcome the current crisis,” said Minister Jamil, stressing that the unilateral Western and U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria are illegitimate and contradict with the international law and target the Syrian people in their livelihood.
He noted that the unfair Western economic siege on the country has contributed to preventing essential materials from reaching the Syrian people.
Jamil stressed that the solution to the crisis in Syria begins with stopping foreign interference in the Syrian internal affair, adding that national dialogue is the main issue towards resolving this crisis.
He continued that the Syrians alone are the ones to determine their country’s destiny by themselves and that putting any precondition regarding the Syrian leadership leaving office in order for the dialogue to start is to undermine this dialogue.
The Minister reiterated the Syrian government’s strong commitment to having the national reconciliation accomplished, adding that the West and the US are not the ones to determine the Syrians’ choices and way of living.
Jamil said the Western countries’ stance towards what is happening in Syria is marked by hypocrisy, as these countries do not want a halt to the bloodshed but they want it to continue, as while they know that extremist terrorists are perpetrating crimes against the Syrian people, they are providing support to those terrorists and speak of a political solution.
Speaking of the repercussions of the unfair Western ban imposed on Syria, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Said Hneidi, said that because of this ban, Syria’s oil production has dropped down to less than 200, 000 barrels per day.
For his part, Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Abdul-Fattah Ammoura, stressed that Syria welcomed the plan of the UN envoy Kofi Annan and its six points, agreed on it and has put it into effect.
He said that Anan’s plan has been a Syrian demand in the first place to have the crisis resolved through dialogue and peaceful means, but it is the other parties who do not want this plan to succeed and do not seek a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Ammoura stressed that the Syrian people are steadfast in the face of what they are faced with and seek the independence of Syria’s sovereign decision, adding that the Western countries have turned away from what they committed to at the Geneva meeting regarding the necessity of finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria.
Source: SANA
