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US ‘very frustrated’ over years-long failure to overthrow Syria govt: Analyst

Sunday, 08 March 2020 7:12 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 08 March 2020 7:22 PM ]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looks over his papers while testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill on February 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. (AFP photo)

The reason behind the US efforts to block the adoption of a United Nations Security Council statement supporting a ceasefire agreed between Russia and Turkey in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib is that the American authorities are “very frustrated” because they have failed over the years to overthrow the legitimate Syrian government, an American political analyst says.

“What’s back of the US efforts to block the UN endorsement of the ceasefire in Syria is simply that the United States for the past nine years has been trying to destroy the legitimate Syrian government and to that end has been backing the Turks and has been backing all the extremist groups operating in Syria, from White Helmets — the medical arm of al-Qaeda — to the various name-changing organizations like Jabhat al-Nusra which has a new name every other week,” J. Michael Springmann, a Washington-based author and former US diplomat in Saudi Arabia, said during a phone interview with Press TV on Saturday.

“The Americans are very frustrated… because they failed to overthrow the government with their own efforts, with the CIA’s efforts, with their support of the terrorists and with all-out support of the Turkish army operating in Syria,” he added.

Presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced after three hours of face-to-face talks in Moscow on Thursday that the truce would take force in Idlib at 00:01 a.m Friday.

Diplomats cited by AFP said, however, that the US had stonewalled the measure, with Washington calling it "premature," and Britain and Germany adopting the same stance.

US blocks UN Security Council support for Syria ceasefire

The US reportedly blocks adoption of a UN Security Council statement supporting a ceasefire agreed between Russia and Turkey in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.

The deal was clinched amid a pressing need for pacification in Idlib, where Turkish violations had brought about an unwarranted flare-up of already high levels of deadly violence.

The ceasefire comes a few months after the Syrian army launched an anti-terror operation against foreign-sponsored militants in Idlib after terrorists failed to honor an earlier de-escalation agreement brokered by Ankara and Moscow.

Turkey rebrands 80,000 terrorists to stop Syria's liberation of Idlib

Some 80,000 Turkey-backed terrorists are fighting Syrian troops in northwest Syria after Ankara rebrands them as opposition groups.

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), more than 1138 terrorists and 73 Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes against pro-Damascus forces in the last 51 days.

The Observatory - which is known to oppose the Syrian government - also said more than 276 cities, towns and villages were liberated by the Syrian army.

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