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Swiss Foreign Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Riyadh Agreement Is a Step for The Right Track in Yemen

Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    Fatehalrahman Youssef
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Swiss Foreign Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Riyadh Agreement Is a Step for The Right Track in Yemen

Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis stressed the importance of Tehran’s return to the negotiations on the nuclear program, hoping that its ongoing talks with Riyadh would have a positive impact on the region’s security and stability.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Cassis said that every agreement that supports de-escalation of the conflict and alleviates the suffering of the Yemeni people is a step in the right direction, noting that from this point of view stems the importance of the Riyadh Agreement.

In his statements, he stressed the importance of finding a comprehensive and peaceful solution for the future of Yemen, reiterating Switzerland's call on all parties to abide by international law and stop attacks on civilians. He also said his country calls on all parties to re-engage in negotiations to end the violence and find a political solution.

Underlining his country’s support to the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, Cassis said it is important that the international community, and in particular regional actors, work towards reaching a political solution to the crisis.

On the ongoing rounds of negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the official asserted that only a comprehensive understanding between the countries of the region would lead to peace, stability, and prosperity in the long run.

He noted that the ongoing talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran are a good sign.

Asked about talks on Iran’s nuclear program, Cassis said the JCPOA progress is an essential contribution to international security and non-proliferation.

He added that as a non-signatory, Switzerland does not participate directly in the Vienna process. However, the country welcomes the news about the imminent resumption of talks and hopes that this will lead to a speedy and full return to the commitments of all parties.

Regarding Libya, Cassis said the country has suffered from various conflicts for more than 10 years, stressing that the ceasefire agreement signed in Geneva in October 2020 was the first sign of hope.

He highlighted several achievements that took place, including what he described as the free and inclusive elections, which are expected to be held by the end of 2021.

According to Cassis, Switzerland has been supporting the UN-led peace process for many years and will continue to provide services and stand by Libya on its path to sustainable peace and unity.

On relations with Saudi Arabia, he revealed that his visit to Riyadh would touch on means to strengthen his country’s ties with the Kingdom and deepen development cooperation.

Noting that Switzerland has adopted a strategy for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in October, he said that his visit would be largely devoted to the implementation of this strategy, which builds on Switzerland’s longstanding commitment to conflict prevention, humanitarian assistance, and the promotion of development cooperation.

Cassis said his country also seeks to highlight the opportunities available to Swiss companies in the Saudi market, as well as Switzerland's relentless pursuit to harness the potential of the young, well-educated workforce and work to promote digitalization and new technologies.

Asked about previous bilateral agreements and whether his visit to Riyadh would witness the signing of new cooperation projects, Cassis said he believes that through the free trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to the double taxation agreement and the bilateral investment agreement, it is possible to say that relations with Saudi Arabia rest on a solid foundation.

On efforts to combat climate change, the minister stressed that Switzerland welcomed the efforts made by all countries to mitigate and adapt to climate threats.

He noted that climate change is an excellent example of a global challenge that can only be faced together.

Cassis also said that Switzerland and Saudi Arabia share many interests in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adding that priority topics included ways to improve water and health, address climate change, and enhance agriculture and food security.

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Interviews

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
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Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.