Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani spoke to the United Nations Security Council for the first time and proclaimed the fall of the Assad regime. He called on the global community to stand behind the “new Syria.”
“I have the privilege to speak to you today, the day that prior to this statement, the flag of the new Syria, the Syria of liberty and honour, was hoisted on the pole of the United Nations beside 193 of our allies within the international community,” al-Shaibani explained.
Characterising the deposed Bashar Assad regime as guilty of “decades” worth of atrocities, he stated: “The nation descended into darkness, and people were brutally murdered and tortured until they were eliminated. Chemical weapons have been utilised. Thousands have been displaced, and generations have been shattered under the burden of suffering and loss.”
Al-Shaibani stated that Syria welcomed international institutions and that international institutions could have access, preparing for the establishment of a Transitional Justice Commission. There are now flowers instead of barrel bombs dropped by aeroplanes, he said.
He called for an end to sanctions and said that the sanctions “compelled Syria to assume the part of a country conditional on aid instead of being a regional ally in world economic growth,” He contended that the sanctions allowed “illegal networks” to flourish. Al-Shaibani criticised Israeli airstrikes in the Syrian region as “a direct threat to regional stability.” He requested the Council to put stress on Israel to enforce the 1974 disengagement accord.
“Let us grasp this moment of destiny,” he stated, noting that “Syrians are ready to map out the destiny of their nation.” Israel has launched a huge aerial movement against Syrian military targets since the collapse of the Assad government last December.
The Israeli military took over the demilitarised area in the Golan Heights early in December, breaking a 1974 Disengagement deal with Syria, in a step increasing Israel’s grip on the land, most of which it has controlled since the 1967 Middle East War. Assad, Syria’s ruler for almost 25 years, escaped to Moscow on Dec. 8, bringing the Baath Party government to an end, which had ruled since 1963.
