Rania Abu Shamala
05 June 2025•Update: 05 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Syria continues to face threats supported by foreign actors, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Wednesday, calling for greater international understanding of the country’s complex security landscape.
The Syrian minister’s statements came a day after Israeli forces conducted artillery shelling on the Yarmouk Basin area in Syria’s southern Daraa province late Tuesday, following claims that two rockets had been fired from the area toward the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
“We must candidly acknowledge the threats we face, which are driven and supported by external forces,” Al-Shaibani told a joint press conference in Damascus with European Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.
“Any party or country that treats Syria as if it were still under suspicion and conditions is insulting the new Syria,” he said.
The top diplomat reiterated Syria’s condemnation of the recent Israeli strikes on his country, describing them as “not merely violations of international law, but deliberate provocations aimed at derailing Syria’s progress and stability.”
He warned that such actions “create an opening for outlawed groups to exploit the resulting chaos.”
“To this day, Syria endures repeated attacks by armed groups and remnants of the previous regime that terrorize local populations and target Syrian security forces with brutal violence,” Al-Shaibani said.
“In any other country, these acts would be immediately labeled as terrorism,” he said, stressing his government’s efforts to combat these threats.
“Syrian forces are fulfilling their duty to pursue these elements and limit their ability to endanger civilians and national security, under extremely complex conditions.”
He called on international partners, particularly the EU, to recognize this reality and support Syria’s efforts to protect its sovereignty and restore stability.
“Syria today is a sovereign state with a new government responsible towards its citizens, transparent in its commitments, and open to international cooperation based on mutual respect,” Al-Shaibani said.
