Cuba and Venezuela maintain their anti-imperialist principles, condemning Britain and the US's war drive in the Middle East and their latest threats to bomb Syria. Quotes taken from www.dailystar.com and www.venezuelanalysis.com
Cuba warned on Wednesday 28 August that an attack on Syria would have serious consequences for an already unstable Middle East and be in 'flagrant violation' of the United Nations charter.
In a statement, the Cuban foreign ministry condemned the use of chemical weapons but called for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.
'An aggression against Syria would provoke very serious consequences in the already convulsed Middle East, would constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of the U.N. charter and international law, and increase the dangers to peace and international security,' it said.
'It needs to be remembered that those advocating the most for military action against Syria are the same ones who launched bloody wars without a U.N. Security Council mandate, under cover of the deliberate lie about the existence of weapons of mass destruction or under the pretext of protecting civilians,'
'Cuba condemns any use of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and it is firmly committed to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and the strict adherence to its provisions,' the Cuban statement said.
But calling for a political solution to the conflict, Cuba expressed its 'vehement rejection of any attempt to undermine the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and the self-determination of its people.'
Meanwhile the Maduro government in Venezuela also made it's position clear.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned against possible U.S. intervention in Syria, urging 'peace' and questioning the Syrian government’s responsibility for an alleged chemical attack near Damascus.
'We’re on the brink of the beginning of an open war against Syria. We’re not going to abandon the Syrian people,' said Maduro at an event in Caracas on Saturday 24 August.
Syria’s ally Russia states that there is no concrete evidence about the attack or who was responsible. The Assad government denies any role in the alleged attack.
On Saturday President Maduro expressed his doubt over the Assad government’s responsibility for the suspected attack. The Venezuelan head of state called the use of chemical weapons 'a lamentable situation'; however he suggested that the rebel forces seeking to oust Assad could be to blame, saying that Syria is 'the focus of terrorist attacks'.
'In any case, we should await the [U.N.] investigation,' added Maduro, who was Venezuela’s foreign minister between 2006 and 2012.
Along with countries such as Russia and Iran, Venezuela supports a negotiated political solution to Syria’s conflict, effectively backing the Assad government. Venezuela has sent oil shipments to Syria during the civil war and considers the country one of its allies in the Middle East.
Maduro accused the U.S. of wanting to 'split Syria into four pieces' because the country represents 'resistance to [U.S.] advance and expansion' in the Middle East. He also blasted the U.S.’s 'so-called war on terror', arguing that 'the greatest terrorists are the elite of the United States'.
Late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez also strongly opposed Western intervention in the Middle East and other regions, particularly in allied countries such as Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya.
'We reject war, we want peace,' declared Maduro on Saturday, continuing, 'Venezuela will act accordingly in the United Nations, in the whole world, to move what we can in the UNASUR [Union of South American Nations], in the CELAC [Community of Latin American and Caribbean States], for the truth of the Syrian and Arab and Islamic peoples'.