Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad Comes Out In Support Of Russia: The Crisis In Ukraine Is Western Escalation Against Russia In An Attempt To Prevent It from Fulfilling Its Role In Constructing Global Policies

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad said in a February 20, 2022 interview on Russia Today TV that the "Western escalation" against Russia serves the purpose of stopping Russia from assuming its role in "constructing global policies." He said that the escalation is also because of Russia's support for "just causes" such as Syria's fight against Western-backed "terrorism." Al-Miqdad also said that Western countries are trying to drive a wedge between the Arab countries and Iran, and that Syria can bring the Gulf countries and Iran closer together.

Faisal Al-Miqdad: "In Syria, we were not surprised by this Western escalation against the Russian Federation [regarding the Ukraine crisis] as well as against Syria. This had been the Western policy before the Cold War, and continued to be after it ended. However, since it became more apparent that Russia engages in a policy of confronting the Western efforts to dominate the world, the Western countries have been trying to put an end to this, before the Russian Federation assumes its complete role in constructing global policies.

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"In that respect, what happens in Ukraine affects Syria. In Syria, we are facing a special situation, because of the Western countries' onslaught against Syria and the Russian federation's support of Syria. The goal of all this is to put an end to the Russian support for the just causes of the peoples, including the Russian support for the Arab Republic of Syria's fight against terrorism.

"This is because the terrorism from which Syria has suffered in the past 11 years is driven financially, politically, and militarily by the Western countries, which are now attacking Russia.

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"Taking hostile positions against the Islamic Republic [of Iran] will not benefit the Arabs. Therefore, both the Arabs and the Iranians should invest more efforts in order to clarify the foundations of these relations. We must not allow Western countries to muddy the waters and to turn us into enemies instead of friends.

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"Because we have good relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, we are capable of bringing the two sides closer, instead of..."

Interviewer: "You mean Tehran and the Gulf countries..."

Al-Miqdad: "Yes. Instead of the constant enmity that is always ignited by the Western countries."