Sputnik International
The international community takes decisions on Syrian crisis without taking into account the positions of the Arab world, Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita said.
“Today, unfortunately, the Syrian crisis is being resolved without taking into account the voice of the Arab world. The decisions concerning the Arab world are taken outside of it. This is the main challenge,” Bourita told reporters on the sidelines of the Arab League Summit in Saudi Dhahran.
According to the minister, the Arab world currently needs its voice to be heard in the issue of solving the Syrian crisis.
The final statement of the Arab League Summit did not accuse the Syrian authorities of reported use of chemical weapons in Duma earlier in April, however, the Arab leaders strongly condemned “the use of chemical weapons against the friendly Syrian nation” and demand “to hold an independent international probe.”
On Friday night, the United States, France and the United Kingdom launched strikes on a number of targets in Syria in response to the alleged chemical incident in the Damascus’ suburb of Duma. The Western states have accused forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad of an attack with the use of chemical weapons in Duma. The Syrian leadership denied any involvement in the attack, and invited the experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate into the reports.
The views of the Arab states on the US-led attack differ sharply: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) supported the missile strike, while Lebanon, Algeria and Iraq condemned it. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry called on the Arab League to work out a clear position in response to missile strikes by the United States and its allies on Syria in the course of the summit.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the three countries fired over 100 cruise and air-to-surface missiles, most of which were shot down by the Syrian air defense. According to Damascus, which has repeatedly said that it eliminated its chemical weapons stockpiles, the attack damaged Syrian infrastructure, and left three civilians injured.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Saturday that the strikes had been carried out in violation of norms and principles of the international law.
