The opposition was not invited there

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on the formation of a new government. 11 new ministers appeared in the cabinet, but representatives of the opposition were not offered ministerial portfolios.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Photo: Reuters

Key positions in the new government, formed by order of President Assad, were retained by Prime Minister Wael al-Khalki and 19 other heads of departments, including Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, Defense Minister Fahd Jasem al-Freij and Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar.

11 new heads of departments appeared in the cabinet: as Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Transport, Labor, Health, Education, Construction, etc., reports the Syrian state news agency Sanaa . At the same time, the overwhelming majority of government members, as noted by the media, belong to the ruling Baath Party (Arab Socialist Renaissance Party). The post of Minister of National Reconciliation was given to the representative of the systemic opposition, Ali Haidar, from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, which is loyal to the authorities. The opposition was not included in the new cabinet, although international mediators (members of the UN and Arab League) have long called on Bashar al-Assad to form a government of national unity, and the Syrian president himself has more than once agreed with the need for such a step.

Let us recall that the United States recently joined the fight against opponents of the central government in Syria. American reconnaissance aircraft have begun flying over the country to collect data on the Islamic State (IS) group, which could be the first step towards a US military operation in the country. If a decision is made to strike Islamist positions in Syria, the United States will side with President Bashar al-Assad, whose removal in recent years has remained one of the central goals of their policy in the region. The Pentagon explains the need to fight IS in Syria with the objectives of the ongoing US military operation against the group’s militants in neighboring Iraq.

Angelina Shunina

Bashar al-Assad formed a new government