‘Ceasefire in Syria impossible until terrorists rooted out’

Karachi
With the Vienna talks involving Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a consensus on renewing efforts to end the civil war in Syria, Radwan Loutfi, the head of the Syrian Arab Republic in Pakistan mission, said on Friday that a ceasefire in his country was impossible until its occupation by “terrorists” came to an end and a genuine indigenous opposition was in place.
“When Turks can see Russian warplanes crossing its airspace for some seconds, how can they fail to see the oil caravans of the Islamic State running between its border?” Loutfi raised the question while speaking to the members of the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs.
Lambasting Turkey’s role in the Syrian crisis, he said, “Either they support them or have turned a blind eye to the oil smuggling which was keeping the ISIS` finances running,” he added.
Loutfi reiterated that the interference of regional states had exacerbated the crisis. But when asked about the role of Iran and Hezbollah in the country’s military affairs, he said Iranians had “legitimate” interests as they were there to protect shrines from the armed group.
“It is a matter of belief; if sacred shrines are under threat, then there will be people coming forward to protect them. It is simple,” he said. “Iranians are obliged to help Syrians as we are the one solely fighting the armed groups.”
Bashar al-Assad
He said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not a person but a symbol of a well-rooted tree which was not easy to uproot and then throw outside.
“Irrespective of the global negative press which falsely advocates that he is giving power to his own sect, he is not only loved by Alawites, but Sunnis too,” he added.
“In the first year of the crisis, he [Assad] roamed all alone in Sunni-dominated cities,” the Syrian ambassador said.
“If there are people against him, then there are millions of those who support him too.”
United States
Loutfi said the Arab Spring was coined and introduced by the Americans for their own vested interests.
He claimed that initially when the Syrian president had offered to conduct elections in the country, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had rejected the idea on the grounds that Assad would win. “We can’t agree on the pre-condition that Bashar al-Assad must go”
Pakistan
The Syrian ambassador was all praise for Pakistan’s role in the Syrian crisis, appreciating the “positive neutrality” showed by the Islamabad’s foreign office.
“We know that despite enormous pressure on Pakistan to withdraw its ambassador from Damascus, it has declined to take that direction.”
Syrian refugees
The ambassador said it is painful but the Syrian government could not do anything on the issue of the refugees.
“Sadly, the refugees were manipulated to leave their homes to present a negative picture of Syria.”
Turkish diplomat
During a question and answer session, Turkish diplomat Muhammad Onart asked the Syrian ambassador about the availability of evidence that Turkey had secret relationship with ISIS.
The Syrian ambassador replied that with the Turkish border sealed at all fronts except the 800 to 900 km strip with Syria it was quite obvious that the oil smuggling that funded ISIS had something to do with Turkey.