Syria's prime
minister and foreign minister on Thursday accused European and regional
powers of supporting terrorists and fuelling fighting in the country, in
a defiant tone from Damascus after a halt to peace talks this week. Prime
Minister Wael al-Halaki said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Britain and
France did not want a political solution to the conflict. "These
regimes are working to escalate terrorist actions, support terrorists
and destroy the cessation of hostilities agreement agreed by Russia and
the United States," state news agency SANA quoted him as saying. Foreign
Minister Walid al-Moualem said earlier that states including Turkey
continued to supply rebels in Syria with advanced weapons, and that the
Syrian government would press on with its fight against terrorists. The partial truce,
brokered by Washington and Moscow in February, initially reduced
violence in the west, but fighting has picked up again in recent weeks,
leaving the ceasefire in tatters. The
statements from Damascus suggested it still felt it was in a position
of strength, bolstered by a six-month-old Russian military intervention
on President Bashar al-Assad's side. A top adviser to
Assad said that "dialogue, local agreements and destroying terrorism"
were the way to ensure a political solution to the conflict. "We are trying to
exploit every possible opportunity for the success of the political
solution to the Syrian crisis," Bouthaina Shaaban said.
Syrian ministers say Europe and regional powers support terrorists: SANA
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