UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that confining and eliminating terrorism cannot be achieved without addressing the causes of its spread in society, noting that terrorism emerged as a result of the exclusionary policies of the Assad and Iraqi regimes and the lack of equality between citizens of the two countries.
Al Nahyan added that the failure to address the causes of terrorism will lead to re-spawning of new extremist groups. He also said that his country rejects cooperation with the Assad regime in countering terrorism, adding that the Assad regime’s suppression of his people and the lack of justice makes it impossible to cooperate with him. He stresses that Assad’s practices are one of the reasons behind the emergence of terrorism, noting that unless the social, political and economic reasons are tackled terrorism will not be eradicated.
The Syrian Coalition said in many previous statements that ISIS is one of the outcomes of the terrorism of the Assad regime, adding that the Syrian people are stuck between the hammer of the Assad regime and the anvil of ISIS. The Assad regime is undoubtedly the root cause of terrorism in the region. The problem of terrorism will only be decisively resolved when Assad and his ruling elite are overthrown.
Spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition Salem al-Meslet stresses that “Assad’s departure is still a basic requirement for agreeing to engage in any political settlement,” pointing out that this is and always will be the basic demand of the Syrian people, who have sacrificed dearly towards this end.” (Source: Syrian Coalition + Agencies)
