Russia Talks Reconstruction With Syria’s Assad

A Russian business delegation met with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Monday to discuss potential investment in the war-torn country’s reconstruction process, Agence France-Presse reported.

This is not the first time that Moscow has expressed interest in playing a role in Syria’s reconstruction process. During a visit to Damascus in October, Russia’s deputy minister of energy said that his country is willing to finance and support projects to rehabilitate Syria’s electricity sector.

Citing the Syrian state-run SANA news agency, AFP said that Monday’s discussions centered on “major Russian investment projects” in the fields of commerce, transport and energy. Those include investment in “oil, gas, phosphates, electricity and petrochemical industries.”

There were no immediate reports of Damascus and Russia signing any major economic contracts or deals during Monday’s talks.

Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin, who headed Monday’s business delegation, lauded Syria for being a country with “unlimited riches.”

“Russian companies have the moral right to develop major economic projects here,” he told reporters.

The deputy prime minister claimed that Syrian authorities “want to work with Russia, and Russia alone,” to repair and re-establish the country’s energy infrastructure, according to AFP.

However, the Syrian government has already signed major contracts with Iran, including phosphate mining deals, which suggests that Moscow will not be the only key foreign player in Syria’s energy sector.

In April 2017, U.N. agencies estimated war damage across Syria at $350 billion.

Assad Jabs Back at France After Criticism

President Bashar al-Assad criticized France for supporting “terrorism” in Syria, saying that the country has “no right” to talk about peace, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

“France spearheaded support for terrorism and their hands are soaked in Syrian blood from the first days and we do not see they have changed their stance fundamentally,” Assad told reporters on Monday. “Those who support terrorism have no right to talk about peace,” he said.

Assad’s comments come after French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that Paris would push for negotiations involving all rival parties, including the Syrian president, Reuters said. Macron also promised peace “initiatives” early next year.

France also blamed the Syrian government for failed peace talks in Geneva, which closed last week. “We deplore the attitude of the Syrian regime, which has refused to engage in the discussion,” deputy foreign ministry spokesperson Alexandre Georgini told reporters on Friday.

Speaking about the eighth round of negotiations in Geneva, Assad said on Monday that like previous rounds of talks, they have not yielded any results.

“Those with whom we are negotiating in Geneva – the Syrian opposition – do not represent the Syrian people,” he told reporters. “And after three years of negotiations, the Geneva talks did not achieve anything.”

Aid Agencies Warn of Critical Situation in Damascus Suburbs

Aid agencies on Monday warned of deteriorating conditions in the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, where thousands of civilians are trapped with little access to food and medicine.

“The humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta has reached a critical point,” Robert Mardini, the Middle East director for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement released Monday.

“As so often in Syria over the last six years, ordinary people are once again trapped in a situation where life slowly becomes impossible and where goods and aid are severely limited,” he added.

The European commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management also issued a statement Monday urging parties to the conflict to immediately grant “sustained and unhindered access for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.”

“Over the past weeks, the situation in the besieged Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus has deteriorated rapidly,” he said. “There is a shortage of basic supplies including food, fuel, medicine. This is leading to severe malnutrition, medical emergencies and an increased risk of diseases, such as typhoid and hepatitis,” he added.

There are an estimated 400,000 people trapped in the rebel enclave outside the capital. The area has the highest rate of acute malnutrition recorded since the start of the conflict, with roughly 12 percent of children under 5 suffering from famine.

The U.N. and the World Health Organization (WHO) have repeatedly called for urgent medical access to the area but officials in Damascus have yet to make any progress.

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• The Guardian: How Syria’s White Helmets Became Victims of an Online Propaganda Machine
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