UPDATE - Syrian president calls for unity, vigilance against attempts to undermine gains

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) — Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa made a call Tuesday for national unity and safeguarding the country’s territorial integrity.

"Syria is indivisible, it is an integrated whole," Sharaa said in a speech at the National Dialogue Conference in the capital Damascus.

"The unity and monopoly of arms in the hand of the state is not a luxury but a duty and an obligation," he said, warning against attempts to undermine the gains of the Syrian people.

“We must firmly confront anyone who tampers our security and unity,” he said.

“Syria has endured pain, suffering, and economic, social, and political effects, and then the blessed Syrian revolution came with a clear victory and a great conquest,” Sharaa said. “Syria has now returned to its people after being stolen in a moment of negligence.”

The Syrian president also called for patience. “It is the duty of all Syrians to do their part."

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Damascus would not tolerate any attempt to harm Syria’s sovereignty, calling for the removal of sanctions and the entry of new investments.

"We won't accept harming our sovereignty and identity," Shaibani told the conference.

The top diplomat stressed that Syria will build ties with all parties who "respect the will of the Syrian people."

"Syria has faced the toughest challenges and is capable of building relationships that serve the interests of its people and restore its leading role in the region," he said.

On Monday, the EU said that it was suspending sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport, and banking sectors to aid the country’s reconstruction after the fall of the Bashar Assad regime.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Sharaa, who was appointed as the new Syrian president on Jan. 29, tasked Mohammed Al-Bashir with forming a government to oversee Syria’s transitional period.