Mansour before Non-Aligned Countries: Syria Must Not Be Left as Prey for Unjust Sanctions

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stated on Tuesday that the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement must tackle their own problems among each other instead of resorting to foreign powers that seek to impose their own will against them.

He stressed: “Can we possibly leave a member state, such as Syria, as prey to unjust sanctions that have been imposed for unconvincing reasons because of its insistence to maintain its sovereign, political, and economic rights ?”

Mansour made his remarks before a meeting of the foreign ministers of non-aligned countries held in Iran.

The Non-Aligned Movement summit is set to take place on Thursday and Friday with President Michel Suleiman’s participation.

Mansour continued by condemning “the oppressive decisions that are being imposed against the peoples of some of the non-aligned countries under the excuse of defending democracy, freedom, and human rights.”

“Is it possible that some members of the non-aligned movement enjoy normal ties with Israel at a time when it has maintained its occupation of Arab land?” wondered the foreign minister.

“Lebanon appreciates the deep role the non-aligned movement has played in the past 50 years, especially regarding its concern with joint issues of interest, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict,” he noted.

Syria has been witnessing anti-regime protests since March 2011 that have left at least 250,000 dead in the regime’s crackdown against the demonstrations.

Its actions have forced the international community to impose sanctions against Syria in order to force the regime to end its crackdown.