Syria-US Relations: US 'not invited' to take part in Syria's reconstruction process

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Syria's Foreign Ministry says the US is "not invited" to take part in the country's reconstruction process, following an announcement by Washington that the United States, the EU and other regional partners will not provide reconstruction support to areas controlled by President Bashar as-Assad's government. CGTN's Jenny Cortes Ybanez (ee-BAN-yes) has the story.

The war of words continues between Syria and the US. Syria's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday, that his country does not need US funding, saying: US money is "smeared with Syrian blood and it is not invited to take part in the reconstruction process."

The declaration comes one day after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that the US, EU and other regional partners will not provide support to rebuild areas currently controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Tillerson called on all stakeholders in Syria's future to discourage economic relations with Assad's regime, and provide international assistance to local partners instead. He also called on the international community to put economic pressure on Assad's regime after Syria's political transition.

REX TILLERSON US SECRETARY OF STATE "Our expectation is that the desire for a return to normal life and these tools of pressure will help rally the Syrian people and individuals within the regime to compel Assad to step aside."

The Syrian Foreign Ministry called Tillerson's comments a violation of international law, and said a country's internal affairs are the exclusive right of its people.

Syria's Foreign Ministry also accused the United States' military of protecting Islamic State militants and called the US presence in Syria "illegitimate." The growing tensions between Damascus and Washington comes after a recent decision by Washington to work with Kurdish fighters to form a 30,000-strong border force in northeastern Syria. Jenny Cortes Ybanez, CGTN, Beijing.