Day: June 21, 2023

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates “strongly” condemned attacks of Israeli settlers on a number of villages in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling on Israel to halt its aggression “immediately.” The ministry also condemned Israeli government’s announcement to approve construction of 1,000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank. In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry’s official spokesperson, Sinan Majali, said continuous violations and attacks in the occupied Palestinian territories herald further escalation and represent a dangerous policy that the international community should work to stop immediately to avoid further violence. Majali also stressed need to prevent eruption of cycles of violence that threaten security and peace, for which all will pay price. Stressing need to stop dangerous escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories, he noted unilateral measures aimed to build and expand settlements, seize lands, displace Palestinians and attack them are illegal, rejected and condemned practices. These Israeli practices represent a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and undermine peace foundations and prospects for realizing the two-state solution, according to Majali.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The US Agency for International Development (USAID), signed a set of agreements to support some well-established Jordanian companies, to raise their competitiveness and increase exports to ensure business growth and create more jobs. These agreements, signed through the USAID’s Economic Reform Activity (ERA), aim to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic growth at the national level with an active private sector participation, in order to achieve the economic modernization vision goals and outputs. The ERA is based on several themes, such as developing institutional capacities, reforming policies, facilitating investments and promoting exports, in addition prioritization and enhancing the competitiveness of the economic environment. Among these themes is working with companies that meet specific requirements, such as employing more than 250 Jordanian men and women, exporting no less than 15 per cent of their annual sales, and other standards and requirements. The ERA signed an agreement with Crystel, a global company for support services and integrated call center management, to help it develop its marketing strategy by understanding and studying opportunities in the regional market and determining how to leverage them to create more job opportunities, given that provided jobs for more than 1,800 Jordanian employees, both men and women. “The grant will support Crystel to benefit from regional demand and to remain one of the leading companies in the Middle East,” said USAID Economic Reform Activity (ERA) Director, Tracy Shank, explaining that “the program’s work with Jordanian companies is in itself an investment in the future of Jordan and its people.” For her part, Crystal Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Co-founder, Zeena Majali , said, “The company seeks, through this grant, to develop its strategy to expand its business at the international level and attract more businesses and economic activities to Jordan, thus providing job opportunities for Jordanian youth.” The USAID ERA operates according to the Memorandum of Understanding for economic development, signed between the Jordanian and American governments, through which programs and projects are funded throughout the Kingdom.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Five quakes were recorded over the past 24 hours, the National Earthquake Center (NEC) said.

The center stated in a statement the stations of the National Seismological Network recorded 5 weak earthquakes, two of which were in Turkey, whose intensity ranged between 2.3 and 2.5 magnitudes on the Richter scale, and two tremors in Iskenderun with magnitudes reaching up to 3.3.

The center added that the stations also recorded a 1.8 magnitude quake 14 km northwest of Hama.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

There can be no normal relations between two states, one of which occupies the lands of the other, Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Dr. Ayman Sousan stressed.

Sousan’s remarks came in an interview with RT TV on Tuesday on the sidelines of his participation in the 20th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana format.

The Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister said that restoring relations between Syria and Turkey to normal requires Turkey’s commitment to the Astana understandings, especially respect for Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and acknowledging the withdrawal of its forces from Syrian territory according to a clear and specific timetable, and actually starting to implement this withdrawal.

He noted that the Astana meetings have made important achievements in terms of reducing the area of terrorism in Syria, mainly in the three de-escalation zones, adding “As for the fourth zone, there would have been a share of success had it not been for the positions of one of the guarantors, I mean Turkey.”

Sousan added “We hope that this meeting will proceed as the previous meetings have gone in order to reach the complete elimination of terrorism, and this thing is possible if the Turkish side adheres to the understandings it signed and respects the pledges that come at the forefront of the Astana statements.”

He added that the current round of the International Meeting on Syria in the Astana format is gaining additional importance because it came after the quadripartite meetings of “Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey,” at the diplomatic, military and security levels.

“At the conclusion of the four-way meeting at the level of foreign ministers on May 10th, it was decided to instruct the deputy ministers to draw up a “road map” for the advancement of relations between Syria and Turkey, which is an achievable subject, but it has requirements, foremost of which is a clear approval by the Turkish side to withdraw from the Syrian territory according to a clear and specific timetable,” Sousan continued.

Sousan affirmed that these requirements are national constants that are not subject to bargaining and negotiation, and they include the complete and unconditional withdrawal from the Syrian territory, and this is the basic entry point for any normal relations with Turkey.

He added that the Astana format could have achieved a lot if the Turkish side adhered to the commitments and understandings that were reached and agreed upon, whether with the guarantor states in general or with the Russian side.

Sousan expressed hope that the new developments that took place recently, especially in the field of Syrian foreign relations, and before that, Syria’s return to the meetings of Arab League and its active participation in the Arab Summit in Jeddah, in addition to the efforts made by Russian and Iranian friends mainly in assuring the Turkish side that there is only one way to reform relations with Syria which is to end the occupation.

Regarding the illegal American presence in Syria and Washington’s support for separatist militias in al-Jazeera region, Sousan said “Syria has always affirmed that the Kurdish citizens are an integral part of the national fabric, and it is our duty to hold dialogue with them, but under the roof of the one unified homeland… As for the US presence and its standing behind the separatist project, it comes within the framework of the US policy to impede the consolidation of stability in Syria.”

Sousan added “We say to everyone who proceeds in this project that the US will not stay forever in Syria, and it will leave sooner or later, and you do not mean anything to it, but rather a tool in this project.”

With regard to Washington’s continued support for Daesh “ISIS” terrorist organization, Sousan stressed that the organization is an American industry and everyone knows that, and it is moving and using it at the time it wants to achieve its goals.

Regarding the issue of refugees and their return, the Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister affirmed that this issue is one of the most painful issues for Syria, because it has lost many of its cadres and youth as a result of this war, so many measures have been taken, including amnesty decrees and administrative measures to facilitate this return, but unfortunately there are countries that cry over refugees and impose illegitimate economic measures on Syria and continue to exploit the suffering of those refugees to serve its agendas.

In response to a question about the return of relations between Syria and the Arab countries, and whether we might witness this kind of relations with Qatar, Sousan said: “The nature of relations between any two countries is governed by circumstances and positions on certain issues, and changing positions constitutes an entry point for new relations with this or that country.”

Concerning the resumption of bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Sousan said that the rapprochement between these two countries is a very good thing for them and for the region and for this reason Syria welcomed this rapprochement.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

The final statement of the 20th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana format affirmed that the guarantor states renew their firm commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and to the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter.

The statement added that the guarantor states renew their determination to continue joint action to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to reject separatist agendas aimed at undermining Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The statement stressed that the guarantor states condemn the activities of terrorist organizations and armed groups of different names in Syria and reaffirm their rejection of illegal operations to plunder the Syrian oil.

The statement also condemned the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, which are a violation of international law and Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It reiterated the need to abide by universally recognized international legal decisions, including the relevant provisions of United Nations resolutions rejecting the occupation of the Syrian Golan. The first of these decisions are UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 297, which consider all Israeli decisions and practices in this context as null and void.

The guarantor states renewed their commitment to pushing political settlement process forwards under Syrian leadership and ownership, and with the facilitation of the United Nations in line with UN Security Council Resolution No. 2254, and stressed the important role of the Committee of discussing constitution, which was established with the decisive contribution of the guarantor countries of the Astana formula to implement the decisions of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference in Sochi.

The guarantor countries called for holding the 9th round of the committee to discuss the constitution without further delay, while ensuring a constructive approach by the Syrian parties, and in this regard affirmed their commitment to support the work of the committee through continuous participation with all parties and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, as a facilitator to ensure its sustainable and effective operation.

They also expressed their deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria, due to the repercussions of the devastating earthquake of last February, and condemned all unilateral coercive measures that violate international law, international humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Syrian citizens in occupied Syrian Golan staged a strike on Wednesday, in rejection of the Israeli occupation arbitrary and criminal practices against them and their land.

SANA reporter noted that hundreds of the Syrian citizens in the occupied Golan began to gather at the shrine of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari in the al-Marj area, in preparation for heading towards al-Hafayer area, east of Masada village, in rejection of the occupation scheme to establish wind turbines on their agricultural lands.

The reporter said that the occupation brought large reinforcements from its forces and closed all roads leading to al-Hafayer area, where wind turbines are to be built.

The Syrian citizens renewed their adherence to their land and their rejection of the occupation’s endeavors to establish turbines on it, under the pretext of generating electricity from wind energy.

They stressed that they will not allow the occupation to seize their lands and displace them from it.

Scores of Syrian citizens were injured in attacks by the Israeli occupation troops in Masaada and al-Hafayer towns.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency