Despite the good intentions and financial promises of the Brussels conference, a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis remains unachievable, as reported not only by Arab newspapers but also by much of the international media. It is pointed out that under the current conditions of the difficult Syrian situation, which is a detrimental consequence of the civil war unleashed by the West and several Gulf states, it is impossible, at least in the near future, to return the once prosperous Syria to the bosom of a quiet, prosperous life.
As you know, on June 14 and 15, the seventh conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region was held in Brussels. The conference, attended by representatives of various European countries and Syria’s neighbors (they were the initiators of the civil war), as well as delegates from the UN and other international organizations, was primarily aimed at allegedly mobilizing financial, humanitarian and political aid, supporting countries hosting Syrian refugees.
An additional $10.3 billion aid package was announced at the Brussels conference, held at the headquarters of the European Parliament, for Syrians suffering from hunger, poverty and the horrors of war in their homeland. The European Union also made a verbal commitment to contribute an initial $600 million in 2024, with a promise to enhance the amount and add other contributions in the coming months. What these contributions will be is not specified, their amount and timing is not spelled out. The conference took place against the backdrop of a series of negative political developments in the Syrian arena. The most notable of these are the echoes of the devastating earthquake that struck northern Syria on February 6, causing enormous losses in terms of both lives and infrastructure. The UN estimates that the total damage caused by the earthquake in Syria is approaching a staggering $9 billion. According to other estimates, about $15 billion in funding is needed to rebuild the affected areas. On May 13, the wholly U.S.-led Amnesty International suddenly actively urged the UN to continue to provide aid through the border crossings between Syria and neighboring countries. Apparently, the U.S. military urgently needed safe crossings to move its troops from Iraq to Syria and vice versa.
The Brussels conference also coincided with a decline in economic performance, deteriorating living conditions, and a steady devaluation of the local currency, all the result of a long civil war. Three UN organizations brazenly called Syria’s needs “enormous,” saying that only a tenth of the necessary funding for 2023 projects to help Syrians in their country and those who have sought refuge in neighboring regions has so far been secured. It is true that when the West, led by the United States, started a war, no one in Western countries or within the walls of the UN called the military expenditures of the Western warmongers enormous and for some reason there was enough money. Against this background, the Brussels summit was convened to provide “support” to Syria, despite the Western powers’ tough stance on the Syrian regime, as the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram wrote fairly.
While the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced in late May a new set of Syria-related sanctions targeting the Al Fadel and Al Adham exchange companies, the European Union said on the eve of the conference that its policy toward the Syrian regime would not change until a political solution to the crisis is reached. And it, as you know, involves the removal of the legally elected President Bashar al-Assad, the departure of the current government and replacing them with new rulers from among the opposition bred in the West. On June 16, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy announced that the European Union has “to remain committed to justice and accountability for the crimes committed during more than a decade of conflict… The EU is already considering how it can support a new mechanism that, we hope, will be created by the UN to discover the fate and the whereabouts of those missing, and to support victims’ families.” Borrell added: “Let me be clear: the conditions are not in place for the European Union to change its policy on Syria, Member States are united on that. It will maintain and has recently actually intensified its targeting by sanctions of the Syrian regime.” That’s it, the message is clarion clear – we’ll keep tightening the noose around the neck of the Syrian people until they bow their heads to the West. It amounts to fascist, genocidal and neo-Nazi politics!
Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Western powers have brazenly and lawlessly imposed sanctions against individuals and entities associated with the Syrian regime, in addition to the statement of Washington and European capitals about the efforts of some countries to normalize relations with the Syrian regime, and Russia, in particular. Moscow has taken the lead in trying to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus, and there have been noticeable improvements in Arab-Syrian relations recently, as evidenced by Syria’s restoration as a member of the Arab League, in addition to improved ties between Damascus and its Arab neighbors, to the great anger and hatred of the Western powers.
Despite the lack of any concrete successes achieved by Europe in resolving the humanitarian crisis in Syria, the Conference faces a number of challenges. The main one is the deterioration of the living conditions of Syrians at home and abroad caused by the civil war unleashed by the West, led by the United States. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was forced to acknowledge that the civil war has displaced more than 14 million Syrians since 2011, with some 6.8 million still displaced in Syria, where almost the entire population lives below the poverty line. In addition, there are about 5.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. The UN has reported that the Syrian war has resulted in 500,000 deaths and the displacement of millions of people, both internally and as refugees.
The second problem, and perhaps the main one facing the Conference, is the escalation of the West’s brutal, vicious stance toward the Syrian regime as it attempts to overthrow the Assad government through constant pressure. This is evident in their continued support for an experiment to create an autonomous administration, led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in regions east of the Euphrates, which could help perpetuate the idea of a divided country. It may be recalled that the main military force of these “democrats” are militants from the Al-Qaeda and DAESH terrorist organizations (both of which are banned in the Russian Federation). In addition, the idea of Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria is being actively promoted at Washington’s initiative, thereby weakening the centralization of the Syrian state.
Western countries, including Germany, France and Britain, reject any rapprochement with Bashar al-Assad. In a joint statement issued last March, the three countries, along with Washington, said that they would neither normalize relations with the Assad regime nor lift sanctions against it. The statement accused the Syrian regime of committing “crimes against its own people and allowing terrorists to threaten regional security.” However, they somehow forget the fact that before the West’s intervention in the internal affairs of Syria, there were no fighters and terrorists on its territory. And they were imported by the West and lavishly paid for by several Gulf states to overthrow the legally elected Bashar al-Assad.
Germany’s Special Envoy for Syria Stefan Schneck said in mid-May that sanctions against the Assad regime remained in place and that Berlin had not normalized relations with Damascus because of its policy of supporting drug trafficking in the region. In fact, it is widely known that a wave of drugs “swept” the entire Middle East, when the U.S. launched a war against the Taliban, and then completely occupied Afghanistan. Under the pretext of “helping” the poor Afghans, the CIA constantly ran campaign after campaign to increase the poppy crop and cook it into heroin, which they flew not only to many countries in Asia, but also to Europe and America.
The Brussels conference, as its deplorable results have shown, is unlikely to stop the continuing economic, political and humanitarian deterioration in Syria. This is due to the ongoing conflict between the regime and its opponents, as well as between various terrorist groups, still supported by the West, led by the United States. In addition, the different views and interests of the international and regional powers involved in the Syrian crisis, each with its own unique and narrow agenda, hindered the resolution of the Syrian crisis and prevented the implementation of a radical solution. Unfortunately, the Syrian conflict has exhausted both Syrians and the region as a whole, but due to the West, a comprehensive solution to the crisis remains difficult to find.
Viktor Mikhin, corresponding member of RANS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.