In response to Basma’s questions, Dr. Al-Durzi wrote the following:

It was clear to every wise person in the world, in general, and in Syria, in particular, that what happened in the mid of March 2011 is that the world has become at a very dangerous stage, and the crisis that took place in Syria is only an extension of a large western project to control the Mediterranean Sea, and that the outcome of this crisis which was turned into a military form does not only target Syria but also forces that are against this project hegemony, especially Russia and China.

Image: Dr. Ahmad Al-Durzi

Actually, this is what happened when the United States of America pushed regional powers to intervene extensively in the Syrian war, depending on terrorists, who came from more than 80 countries in the world. The crisis did not stop at that point, but was accompanied by unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States of America and the European Union countries on Syria to push it to change its geopolitical position-which would leave effects and repercussions on Iran, Russia and China- and to loot the Syrian state’s main resources that are necessary for the continuation of life in what remains of Syria as the terrorist groups took control of the areas of the Syrian Al-Jazeera area – where the resources of oil, gas and the food basket of Syria are located— and to divert these resources to serve the terrorist groups and finance and attract them due to the huge amount of money flowing as a result of controlling these resources. …..The main goal was to push Damascus to change its geopolitical policy and to allow the Qatari gas pipes to  pass through Syria to Turkey and then the EU countries with the aim of  preventing the flow of Russian gas to Europe and be an alternative to it.

These policies, which were based on terrorism and the theft of the Syrian oil and gas resources, have put enormous pressure on the Syrian state and on the lives of Syrian citizens, and led to an increase in poverty levels that have reached 92%, and caused major impacts on the Syrian demographics and changes in their lifestyles, and pushed more than 40% of the Syrian population to emigrate abroad, in addition to more than 10% of the internal demographic change through internal migration. These changes required the adoption of hard policies in accordance with the available resources to keep the existence of the Syrian state within the framework of the international and regional conflict. The  adopted hard policies led to unprecedented rise in poverty rate which continues  until this moment.

Sanctions that are being imposed on Syria have greatly affected all groups of doctors, not just me. Medical work is no longer useful, so the majority of doctors have been forced to emigrate or work in Somalia and Iraq. Imagine that the number of doctors in Aleppo has decreased from 11,000 to 1,800, and in Somalia it has increased to 4,000 Syrian doctors.

As for the Russian intervention in Syria, it was  legitimate  as it came upon the request of Damascus. It came at a critical moment when what remained of Syria was under threat. It prevented the  multinational terrorist groups from moving to Iran, Central Asia, the South Caucasus and northwestern China, relying on terrorists who came from these regions.

Image: Syrians wave Russian and Syrian flags during a protest against US-led air strikes in Damascus, Syria on 14 April 2018. (Photo credit: VCG Photo)

The first goal of the Russian intervention in Syria was to eliminate multinational terrorist groups in cooperation with the Syrian Army, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanese Hezbollah. These four parties formed an important axis to confront the US occupation forces that exist in Syria and to defeat ISIS terrorists. This has been achieved to a large extent.

The second goal was to keep Syria united and this has been achieved to a reasonable degree at a military level as the geographic area that is controlled by Damascus expanded from 27% to 67%, while the sides of the Syrian Al-Jazeera are still under the occupation of the American army, which came illegally under the pretext of fighting terrorism, and the northwestern side of  Syria is still under the occupation of  the terrorist groups that are supported by the United States of America and Turkey, which is betting on achieving geopolitical gains at the regional level through the Syrian gateway.

Although Russia is preoccupied with its war with Ukraine, which is actually a war with NATO on the Ukrainian scene, the effects of the Russian presence in Syria are still ongoing, with the continued presence of Russian forces on the ground and the continued Russian role in working to restore the unity of Syrian territory through the political aspect of the talks it is conducting with the forces in northeastern Syria or with Turkey to achieve reconciliation between Syria and Turkey based on the unity and sovereignty of Syrian territory, and to find solutions to dismantle the armed terrorist groups in the areas of the northern Aleppo countryside and Idlib, in addition to the areas located between Ras al-Ain al-Abyad in the Syrian Jazeera .

I believe that the Russian role will continue despite the war in Ukraine, as Syria is an arena of confrontation with the United States of America, complementary to the Ukrainian arena, and also complementary to the Palestinian, Lebanese and Yemeni arenas, where the conflict with the Western side is escalating in these regions, and Russia has no interest other than to be a fundamental supporter of all the forces that exist in these regions in order to preserve its national security.

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This interview was originally published on Mark Taliano.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Durzi is a Syrian political analyst and expert in political issues on impacts of terrorism, sanctions and resources theft on Syrian people.

Featured image: U.S. military vehicle runs past the Tal Tamr area in the countryside of Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, Nov. 14, 2019. | Photo: Str/Xinhua

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