Hadiya Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria, made harsh statements against the US during the expert discussion, which was held at the Valdai Discussion Club on April 12, 2017. Responding to questions from leading Russian experts on the Middle East, she said that dozens of countries led by the US are waging a fierce terrorist war against Syria. The US specifically organized terrorist groups to overthrow the regime in Syria. Washington understands that Assad represents the only solid foundation for the independence of the Syrian people, the speaker of the Syrian parliament stressed.
According to the Syrian deputies who also took part in the discussion, the US goal is to establish its domination in the region. To do this, the Americans need to weaken some countries. They recalled the US intervention in Iraq under the far-fetched pretext of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the destruction of such states as Libya and Yemen. To their opinion, the tool to destroy Syria is terrorism. To counter terrorism and terrorist ideology is the main task of the Syrian state, the parliamentarians stressed.
Representatives of Syria also expressed disappointment with the policy of the new US President Donald Trump, who before the elections announced the need to combat terrorism, and that the fate of Assad should be decided by the Syrian people themselves. However, according to them, they are well aware about the US policy, when the presidential candidates' election promises completely disagree with their actions after the elections.
Some regional players also received negative assessments of the Syrian parliamentarians. Mrs. Abbas was skeptical about the possibility of cooperation with countries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey. In her view, the goal of these states is to destroy the Syrian state, the Syrian civilization. She noted that Turkey, for example, opened its borders and supplied weapons to thousands of terrorists who poured into Syria.
Discussing the prospects for a political settlement, Mrs. Abbas stressed that from the very beginning of the crisis the Syrian leadership was open to dialogue with the opposition. However, the political opponents chose a different path and began to act not in the interests of the Syrian people, but according to the will of the United States and its allies. Now the leadership of Syria is ready to use all platforms to solve the crisis, she stressed. Khaled Al-Aboud, member of the People's Council of Syria, suggested to hold a dialogue on a political settlement inside Syria itself, and not in Geneva or Astana.
Experts also discussed the chemical attack in Idlib and the subsequent US attack against the Syrian air base Shayrat. Andrei Baklanov, adviser to the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, named intolerable the situation when political and military decisions are made not on the basis of facts, but emotionally, under the influence of "images". According to him, a mechanism is needed for an objective assessment of the situation, verification of facts. Mrs. Abbas, in turn, noted that Syria is open to any mission, on the condition that it will conduct an objective investigation. She also denied that Syria has any chemical weapons.
The Syrian deputies expressed the opinion, that the peace process is now being promoted only by Syria, Iran and Russia. Syria's Parliament Speaker Hadiya Abbas noted Russia's huge role in resolving the crisis and thanked for the help that allows Syria to fight terrorism.
