According to Reuters coverage of the UN conference, Syrian diplomat Walid al-Moualem told the UN General Assembly on Saturday that the country is ready for the return of refugees who fled during the 7-plus years of civil war.
“We welcome any assistance with reconstruction from those countries that were not part of the aggression on Syria,” he said. “The countries that offer only conditional assistance or continue to support terrorism, they are neither invited nor welcome to help.”
The argument being made by the minister, and many of a large contingent of anti-interventionist Republicans and Democrats, is that Syria's secular government serves as a necessary bulwark against far worse threats like ISIS and Al-qaida.
To that end, Minister Walid al-Moualem declared that the Syrian government's victory over "terrorism" is on the horizon.
"Al-Moallem's upbeat speech praised the army and the Syrian people for remaining 'defiant' during the war, 'fully convinced that this was a battle for their existence.' He bashed Western and other countries supporting the opposition, alluding to their failed effort to install a transition government and get rid of Assad.
'To the disappointment of some, here we are today more than seven years into this dirty war against my country, announcing to the world that the situation on the ground has become more secure and stable, and that our battle against terrorism is almost over,' al-Moallem said.
'It is high time for all those detached from reality to wake up, let go of their fantasies, and come to their senses, see matters realistically,' he said. 'They must realize they will not achieve politically what they failed to achieve by force.'"
He notably made a special thanks to Russia for their assistance in combating ISIS and maintaining stability in the region, saying, “Thanks to Russia, every effort will now be made to ensure that the refugees return and have their basic needs fulfilled.” Many Trump supporters of both Republican and Democrat origins see the avoidance of destabilizing Assad's regime (and therefore the suffocation of ISIS by a stable secular government) as the fulfillment of a major policy promise they voted for.