APS : Friday, 13 April 2018
PARIS (France)- Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel said Thursday that Syria crisis should be settled by the Syrian themselves, rejecting any foreign interference.
“We follow with attention the deterioration of the situation in Syria. We have had discussions with the French Foreign Minister (Jean-Yves Le Drian) and other partners. We have always considered that the crisis in Syria should be settled by the Syrians themselves,” Algeria’s foreign policy chief said in an interview granted to French daily Le Monde.
Messahel stressed the difference between the fight against terrorism, which is an “obligation for everybody,” and conflicts sparked by internal divides.
“In such cases, the solution comes from dialogue, respect of the sovereignty of peoples and States, without any interference whatever its origin.”
On the situation in Libya, the minister said there are “too many agendas that prevent Libyan people from fulfilling their own will according to the UN strategy,” adding that the solution must come from a dialogue among Libyans.
Libya has the required skill to achieve this goal, Messahel said.
Concerning the role of Algeria, the foreign minister said we “assist the Libyan people in the fulfilling their own will without any interference.”
“We are in almost daily contact with all Libyan parties,” he said, praising the efforts of the UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame.
On the non-participation of the Algerian armed forces in the G5 Sahel, the minister said the reasons are “constitutional, historical (and) cultural.”
On the alleged “incursions” of Saharawi forces into Guerguerat, a UN-monitored buffer zone in Western Sahara, the minister underlined the comment made by the spokesman of the United Nations in this regard.
“Our colleagues in MINURSO have not observed any movement of military elements in the northeast territory. MINURSO continues to monitor the situation closely,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN secretary General said at his daily press briefing early April.
