US opposes normalization of relations with Syria

"Our position on the Assad regime has not changed,” Price stated. “Now is not the time for normalization. Now is not the time to upgrade relations with the Assad regime.”
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC. (Photo: AFP)
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC. (Photo: AFP)

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – In the wake of the devastating earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkey, several Arab entities have made overtures to Syria’s Baathist regime.

They include Egypt, whose foreign minister visited Damascus on Monday, for the first time since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the Arab League, at the start of the civil war. 

Recent visitors to Damascus also include members of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, which met last week in Baghdad. Afterwards, a delegation, led by the Speaker of Iraq’s National Assembly, Mohammed al-Halboosi, visited Damascus, where they, like Egypt’s Foreign Minister, met with Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

Read More: Al-Halboosi heads Arab parliamentary delegation to Damascus 

Syrian “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity”

Last June, the U.N. Human Rights Council reported that nearly 310,000 civilians had been killed in Syria’s civil war. 

”The extent of civilian casualties in the last 10 years represents a staggering 1.5 per cent of the total population of the Syrian Arab Republic at the beginning of the conflict,” the Human Rights Council said, “raising serious concerns as to the failure of the parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law norms on the protection of civilians.”

Indeed, the Syrian regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons against its own population. The most lethal attack occurred in August 2013, in Ghouta, a Damascus suburb, where the regime used sarin gas, killing more than 1,400 of its own citizens.

As State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said last August, on the ninth anniversary of that attack, “The United States remembers and honors the victims and survivors of the Ghouta attack and the many other chemical attacks we assess the Assad regime has launched.”

“The United States strongly supports international and Syrian-led efforts to seek justice for the innumerable atrocities committed against the people of Syria,” Price continued, “some of which rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

“Our Position on the Assad Regime Has Not Changed”

Asked at a press briefing on Monday about the visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, to Damascus, Price seemed to suggest Cairo’s policy was acceptable, because it was “a humanitarian visit,” the purpose of which was to contribute to the international response to the devastating earthquakes.

Indeed, later on Monday, Shoukry went on to Turkey, where he met with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Turkey severed diplomatic relations with Egypt in 2013, after Abdul Fatah al-Sisi ousted Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood, who had been elected president, after the overthrow of the Mubarak regime during the “Arab spring.” 

Shoukry’s visit was, like his visit to Syria, the first of a senior Egyptian official to Turkey in many years.

The death toll in Turkey and Syria from the earthquakes has risen to more than 50,000, while over 1.25 million people have been left homeless, according to a World Bank report. 

A significant factor contributing to the extent of the disaster, at least in Turkey, has been the failure of contractors to adhere to building codes and the lack of enforcement of regulations by the government. 

In explaining why Egypt’s position was not an issue, Price noted that the US has also committed itself to carry out humanitarian activities similar to those which Egypt is undertaking in Syria. 

“But our position on the Assad regime has not changed,” Price stated. “Now is not the time for normalization. Now is not the time to upgrade relations with the Assad regime.”

“We believe,” he continued, that it is possible to “fulfill both of these imperatives at the same time”—that is “addressing the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people, without changing or upgrading the relationship with the Assad regime.”

“Our focus at this time of crises remains on saving lives and helping the Syrian people recover from the earthquake, and we encourage our regional partners to take the same approach,” Price concluded.

On Sunday, Kurdistan 24 asked the State Department for comment on the visit to Damascus of the delegation of Arab parliamentarians and received a similar response.

It included, however, one additional element: the US recognizes that Assad is trying to exploit the earthquake for political advantage, including regaining international legitimacy.

“We have made it clear that it is unacceptable for the regime to try to leverage this natural disaster to its benefit,” a State Department spokesperson told Kurdistan 24.