Iraqi Deputy PM says West 'made many mistakes' in their Syria policies

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Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussain said, on Monday, that "there is something wrong" in the West's approach toward Syria.

Hussain explained “There is something wrong… in the approach towards Syria in the Western mind and also here,” adding that “if you follow the process - the American policy but also European policy towards Syria - they made many mistakes.”

It is worth noting, that the infrastructure and economy, in Syria, have been destroyed due to the war on Syria which started in 2011. For 12 years, the Syrian Arab Army and its allies have been fighting Western-backed militants which has led to the destruction of a major part of Syria's infrastructure.

Alongside the war, draconian sanctions by the US and some EU countries as well as the isolation of Syria by several Arab nations have left Syria's economy crippled and incapable of implementing reconstruction plans efficiently. This was only made worse by the continued occupation of US troops of Syrian oil fields.

In that context, Hussain further added that about 8 million Syrians are living abroad as refugees, he said, highlighting that approximately 230,000 Syrian refugees reside in Iraqi Kurdistan.

“I don’t see clear policy neither here nor in process about what the Western powers want from Syria, but Syria has been destroyed,” the deputy PM said.

Hussain also stressed that there cannot be peace talks on the conflict excluding the Syrian government.

in another context, Chinese Foreign Ministery spokesman Wang Wenbin today called on the United States to immediately lift all illegal unilateral sanctions imposed on Syria and to put aside Washington's "geopolitical calculations."

War-torn Syria suffocated by unilateral sanctions

International calls, spearheaded by China, demanded that the US lift its unilateral sanctions against Syria amid ongoing efforts to find survivors following the devastating earthquake that struck the country last Monday.

According to a piece by Abbey Makoe for the IOL, a South African newspaper, thousands of lives have been lost as a result of the catastrophic earthquake that hit both Syria and Turkey. While humanitarian aid to Turkey was "relatively smooth", Makoe reported, that in Syria, unilateral sanctions "are frustrating efforts to transport aid to Syria."

The South African writer explained that Syria has suffered immensely under a 12-year war prior to the devastating earthquake. During that war, the US imposed unilateral sanctions against Syria as it supported "various Arab rebels fighting to overthrow the government of President Bashar Al-Assad," as per US claims.

These restrictions have hindered aid to the Syrian people and nation leaving anyone stuck beneath the rubble to face their own fate as the Syrian search and rescue teams undergo major setbacks at all levels.

The newspaper also highlighted that the White Helmets, which are "Western-funded fighters to topple the Syrian government," are also directly "supported by the US army on the ground." 

This group has become "fully in charge" of the situation in regions where they operate as those are "parts of Syria where the government has long lost control."

On that note, it is worth reminding, as did IOL, that approximately "1000 US soldiers continue to operate in Kurdish-controlled areas in the country’s oil-rich northeast." US soldiers are operating on "Syria’s southern border area" as they cooperate with "Arab rebel factions that they sponsor."

Read more: Syrian earthquake: death toll exceeds 4500, damaged building warning