Damascus Slams Washington's 'Desperate' Plans To Allocate $5 Mln To White Helmets

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2019) The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday Washington's plans to allocate $5 million to White Helmets non-governmental organization in Syria as "desperate" and called on the United States to stop funding terrorism.

Last week, the US State Department revealed plans to allocate $5 million to the White Helmets and the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) that is investigating crimes in Syria. The motion is set to be endorsed by the US Congress.

"This desperate move of the United States ... proves that the United States still counts on supporting terrorism as a means to achieve its goals in Syria ... The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns Washington supporting terrorists, in particular White Helmets, and calls on the US administration to stop financing and delivering arms to Jabhat Nusra [terrorist organization banned in Russia] and terrorist groups affiliated with it," the ministry said.

The White Helmets non-governmental organization claims to be a group of volunteer rescue workers, who help to prepare Syrians for attacks and carry out rescue operations. However, the group has faced severe criticism on the part of both Syria itself and Russia, which accuse the organization of supporting terrorists and staging provocations involving chemical weapons, aimed at justifying potential foreign interventions in Syria.