Syria’s interim foreign minister says Russia-Iran ties to Assad are an open wound after war
Syria’s interim foreign minister says Russia-Iran ties to Assad are an open wound after war
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Syria’s relations with Iran and Russia remain an open wound for its people after those nations backed autocratic President Bashar Assad during the long civil war, the country’s new, interim foreign minister said Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Asaad al-Shibani acknowledged some “positive” signs from both Moscow and Tehran but did not elaborate.
However, he underlined the new government in Damascus’ desire to improve relations with the West and get sanctions on Syria lifted so the country could start rebuilding after the ruinous, 14-year war.
“Syria has recovered its freedom and dignity” after decades of despotism, al-Shibani said. “It’s a new period of peace and peace building.”
Al-Shibani’s very attendance and address at the Dubai summit was remarkable, reflecting the efforts by the former rebels who ousted Assad in December to gain new friends on the international stage. Qatar and Turkey, one-time rivals of the UAE over their support of Islamists in the region, had far-closer ties to the rebels who ultimately took over Damascus.
The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, had reopened its embassy in Syria in late 2018 as part of a thaw in relations. Assad then visited the UAE in 2022 as Abu Dhabi argued he should be brought back in from the cold among Arab nations, despite the bloodshed by his forces and allies in Syria.
In the immediate hours following Assad’s ouster in December, a top UAE diplomat pointedly refused to discuss whether he was in the federation. Assad was later confirmed to have fled and been given sanctuary in Russia, where Vladimir Putin has long been one of Assad’s closes allies.
Among key concerns for al-Shibani are the U.S. and European Union sanctions. Estimates suggest it will cost at least $250 billion rebuild Syria, which has a poverty rate of 90% and a gross domestic product of less than half it was before the war, according to the European Union.
The sanctions were imposed on “the Syrian regime as result of its oppressions,” al-Shibani said. “It’s only natural to lift” them now.
Al-Shibani, from the northeastern al-Hasakah governorate, is relatively new to the international scene though he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. He had taken part in the 2011 protests against Assad that were part of the Arab Spring uprising, according to a biography published by the Foreign Ministry.
During the war, he used several different noms de guerre and as a member of the former militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, once allied with al-Qaida, he was active in Idlib province. He was named Syria’ s interim foreign minister in December after the rebels’ lightning offensive ended the Assad family’s 54-year rule. A new government is set to take over March 1.
The interim government’s former ties to al-Qaida are among the West’s concerns with the former rebels and interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Al-Shibani also claimed Wednesday that the interim government had “ended all security and Captagon-related challenges ” that strained ties with neighboring Jordan. Captagon, an amphetamine-like stimulant, had been a main source of revenue for Assad.
But tensions remain with Russia and Iran.
Moscow hopes to maintain its air and sea base in Syria on the Mediterranean Sea. Iran also has used Syria as a transit point to arm Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and others in its self-described “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States.
“Syrian people have wounds and pain that they suffered at the hands of these two countries,” al-Shibani said of Russia and Iran.
“In order to restore the relationship, the Syrian people must feel comfortable with this relationship,” he added.
By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press
