New York, Oct. 24 (SANA) Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, said that the new Syria has chosen to fulfill its international obligations and strengthen cooperation with international institutions, helping restore confidence, consolidate stability and return Syria to its rightful place in the international community.
Speaking before the UN General Assembly on Friday, Olabi said it was a source of pride that Syria’s name was being mentioned from the UN podium in connection with fulfilling international obligations and stories of success, as reflected in a statement by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi. This comes after decades in which the deposed regime tarnished Syria’s name through the use of chemical weapons, drug smuggling and destabilization, turning the country into a pariah in the international community.
For many years, the international community faced a pattern of obstruction and evasion of commitments, Olabi said, noting that the deposed regime had turned the country into a source of cross-border threats, from drug smuggling and support for destabilization to the use of chemical weapons and attempts to develop nuclear weapons.
Complex issues accumulated as international efforts failed to make progress toward ending this conduct and halting its destructive consequences, he said. Syrians and people across the region paid a heavy price for this approach, which turned Syria into an arena of confrontation and conflict rather than cooperation and partnership, and of disinformation rather than transparency.
Following its liberation, Syria chose to confront the legacy left by the deposed regime with responsibility and courage, securing its borders, combating terrorism and drug networks, and engaging in efforts to address inherited nuclear and chemical issues, Olabi said. He stressed that Syria firmly believes its security and that of the region can be built through partnership, and that cooperation and fulfilling obligations are the way to restore confidence, consolidate stability and return Syria to its rightful place in the international community.
Olabi said this transformation is particularly significant amid declining confidence in the multilateral system and escalating conflicts and arms races. Syria, he added, has chosen a path that restores the standing of diplomacy and international law.
Cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency
Olabi said the nuclear file offers tangible evidence of the profound transformation Syria has undergone, noting that the country has made full and transparent cooperation with the IAEA a strategic choice.
After nearly a decade and a half of keeping the agency out, Syria proactively opened all sites without restrictions, voluntarily disclosed previously undeclared nuclear materials and placed them under the agency’s safeguards inside the country, he said. This led to the removal of the inherited non-compliance finding against Syria.
Condemnation of Israeli Attacks
Olabi condemned Israeli attacks on Syria, noting that Israel had not confined its actions to violations and incursions in southern Syria, but had also bombed sites inside the country on the same day Grossi visited Syria to follow up on efforts to resolve the nuclear file.
While Syria engages transparently with the IAEA and affirms its determination to fulfill its obligations and spare the region from risks, it continues to face Israeli violations of its sovereignty and actions undermining its security, Olabi said.
“The new Syria has chosen to shoulder its responsibilities with courage and, through its commitment and cooperation, uphold an international system that is crumbling under the weight of violations, with its credibility and effectiveness facing a serious test,” he added.
Olabi called on the international community, as it witnesses developments in southern Syria and demonstrations held across the country on Friday by Syrian men and women against the occupation, to fulfill its role by supporting and protecting this path.
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