Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad blamed the United States for global crises, saying Washington and its Western allies have created a state of instability across the globe in order to undermine Russia.
Assad made the remarks at a meeting with Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev and his accompanying delegation in Damascus on Tuesday, SANA news agency reported.
The United States and its Western allies “have fabricated a global politico-economic crisis and caused a state of global instability, with the aim of undermining Russia’s position and its international presence”, the Syrian leader stressed.
“They used Ukraine as a tool for such a purpose. However, the consequences of the crisis began to deepen in their respective countries in terms of living conditions, as well as social and economic life,” he added.
Russia’s firm stance toward the West and the United States is one of the most important factors leading to the formation of a multi-polar world, Assad stated.
Russia began what it calls a special military operation against Ukraine last February with the aim of defending Ukraine’s pro-Russian population in Donetsk and Luhansk, another Eastern Ukrainian region, against persecution by the Kiev regime.
Several Ukrainian regions have ever since voted in separate referendums in favor of joining the Russian Federation.
Kiev and its Western allies, however, accuse Moscow of seizing those territories by force.
During the Tuesday meeting, the Syrian president also discussed regional issues, such as Turkey’s continued deployment of its military forces in Northern Syria and the need for their withdrawal.
Lavrentiev, for his part, conveyed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s greetings to Assad, stressing Moscow’s support for the Damascus government to enhance the security and stability of the Syrian nation.
The senior Russian diplomat also underlined the need for closer cooperation between the two countries to secure a decent return of Syrian refugees to their motherland.
He underscored that Russia and Syria are committed to the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian refugee crisis, and categorically reject all attempts to politicize the matter.