CAIRO, August 27 (Itar-Tass) - The United States does not want to see a political settlement of the Syrian crisis. On the contrary, it is interested in further escalation of tensions, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem declared at a news conference in Damascus on Tuesday.
It is in Washington’s interests the conflict in Syria goes on; “the latest developments are clear evidence of this,” Moallem said.
He declared Damascus was interested in an international investigation of incidents in which militants used chemical weapons.
“This meets our national interests,” Moallem said. He dismissed all claims by the West the Syrian military had used chemical warfare against its own people.
“There is not a single country in the world that might use chemical weapons against its civilians. This is precisely what I told US Secretary of State John Kerry on the phone the other day,” Moallem said.
Relations between Russia and Syria “are historical and stood the test of decades of cooperation,” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told a news conference in Damascus on Tuesday.
“Moscow and Damascus are maintaining close ties at all levels - by phone and through diplomatic channels,” the foreign minister said.
“The countries observe all agreements and treaties, which were signed back in the times of the Soviet Union,” he said.
In case of armed aggression Syria will not surrender, but will fight back with all available means, Foreign Minister announced.
He warned that Syria would continue to use military force against rebels in defiance of a potential threat of foreign invasion. He is certain that a strike against Syria, should it eventually happen, will play into the hands of the international terrorist group Al Qaeda.