President Khaled Khoja on Saturday participated in a panel discussion at the regional security summit in Manama, which is organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Afghan Foreign Minister Salah al-Din Rabbani also talked in the panel discussion.
The panel discussion focused on the cause of extremism in the region, and proposed alternatives to the phenomenon of extremism. The panel concluded by discussing ways to live up to the challenges facing the region.
President Khoja stressed that the Assad regime is responsible for creating favorable conditions for the emergence of terrorism, adding that extremism did not exist in Syria before Assad’s brutal crackdown on the Syrian people. He also stressed that Syrians are moderate people and accept co-existence.
Khoja pointed out that the international community has not yet shown genuine desire to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, explaining that the UN Security Council has failed to issue resolutions in this regard or to enforce the adopted resolutions.
Moreover, President Khoja stated that the spectrums of Syrian society face three challenges, namely the Assad regime brutality and no safe zones, ISIS and the sectarian militias fighting alongside Assad, and the Iranian-Russian invasion.
Khoja also added that the Syrian Revolution is now a liberation movement against Iranian-Russian invasion, pointing out that over 1,700 people, mostly civilians, were killed since the Russian aggression started on Syria. Russian air force targeted 12 hospitals spread over three provinces.
President Khoja said that the Assad regime and Russia have so far failed to achieve any progress in liberated areas despite using brutal force against rebel fighters. He stressed the need to bring about a comprehensive solution that addresses the root cause of terrorism, which is the Assad regime and the Russian and Iranian invaders.
He concluded his remarks by stressing the need for finding a political solution in accordance to the Geneva I Communique in a way that leads to the departure of Bashar al-Assad, an essential prerequisite to defeat terrorism and initiating a process of national reconciliation. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
