Members of the Syrian pro-government forces inspect the damage of a street in the Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood on the southern outskirts of the capital Damascus on May 22, 2018. (AFP photo)
DAMASCUS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The withdrawal of Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group from Syria is not on the discussion agenda, as those forces have come to Syria upon the invitation of the government, Syria's deputy foreign minister said in an interview published Wednesday.
"This topic is not even on the agenda of discussion since it concerns the sovereignty of Syria. We cannot let anyone even raise this issue," Faisal Mekdad told Russia's Sputnik.
His remarks came as Russia has recently called for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Syria, but the Syrian diplomat said that "I don't think the Russian friends meant the forces or armies that have entered Syria legitimately upon the consent of the Syrian government."
"The government of Syria has invited the allied and friendly forces to help in the war on terror, and among those forces are the Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah all those sides are fighting terrorism and not violating the sovereignty of Syria as they work in full coordination with the Syrian government," he said.
He pointed out that the Russians meant the withdrawal of the forces that haven't been invited by the Syrian government, such as the American, French, and the Turkish forces.
Mekdad said those forces which entered Syria without the approval of the Syrian government represent the occupation forces that are directly supporting the terrorism in Syria.
The Syrian official hinted that the Western powers are the ones who want to see the withdrawal of Iran and Hezbollah forces from Syria, saying such Western powers "are considering the possibility of intervention in all parts of Syria, including the support of terrorists in Syria and elsewhere in the region."