Al-Assad: Conditions Better, Our Battle Isn’t With AL But with West, Arab Leaders to Come To Damascus to Apologize
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed satisfaction to the state of stability that Lebanon is enjoying stressing that "he is not well familiar with the Lebanese internal permanent details."
Viewing that "it seems that the current government will continue to perform its duties," al- Assad confirmed that "Lebanon will pass in a more comfortable stage especially since all the world today focuses on Syria."
"We are receiving the strikes and grasping them," he added.
On the possibility of dialogue with the "Muslim Brotherhood movement", al-Assad clarified that "we previously opened the door of dialogue with the movement, for several times, but we did not get to a result, as they remained stuck to their opinion."
"We are not ready for dialogue with them unless they give up what they are in," he stressed.
"The movement is under full support," he noted pointing out that "the Syrian regime doesn't link it with the parties intervening in the events."
"It is a key movement in the Palestinian issue, and we deal with it on these bases," the Syrian President explained.
Al-Assad also said that "the sectarian atmosphere did not used to exist in Syria as the authorities dealt firmly with any attempt to agitate it, but there is work on diffusion, and today this atmosphere declined to the area of Homs only."
Reflecting the Russian strategic position in dealing with Syria, he rejected any possibility of change in the Russian position supporting Syria.
"What Russia proposed is a strategic and irreversible position, and today they are with us in this battle."
The Syrian president confirmed that "no price can be offered to Russia parallel to the the loss of Syria and its role in the region; losing the Syrian role means that Russia is permanently out from the Middle East."
Uncovering that "Syria was not encouraged to accept the Arab League Protocol," al-Assad explained that "the Russian leadership hoped Syria's approval eases pressure on Damascus, and creates a more positive environment."
"The battle of Syria is not against the Arabs, and we are not worried about Arab moves as some Arab countries are not convinced with AL's position," he stressed.
"We have received many calls from Arab countries assuring us that nothing will change in bilateral relations after the issuance of sanction resolutions against Syria," he asserted.
"The Arab leaders will come to Damascus to apologize in the end," the Syrian President vowed.
"The Syrian public, who flow into to streets, is not necessarily all pro-regime, but people are angry from the AL position towards their country, and they are reacting to it," the Syrian President added.
"My battle is not with the Arabs, so we do not care what they announce but with those moving Arab countries today," he stressed.
Asserting that "the American plan had been for the partitioning of Iraq, but that the Americans discovered that the division of Iraq is impossible with the existence of Syria to its side," he mentioned that "either Syria is divided, so that Iraq would be divided or both countries are not to be divided."
"US is in its weakest foreign situation, and it aims at shaking the Syrian situation to cover its withdrawal from Iraq," he said.
"They want to change the regime in Syria, but they will not succeed," the Syrian President asserted.
Commenting on Turkish position, al-Assad viewed that "Turkey can't dictate its will on Syria, and Turkey is intervening in a larger issue than its regional size and reality," repeating that "the battle is with the West."
Acknowledging the long and harsh type of the battle, he pointed out that the conditions today are better than they were months ago."
"I always ask the army not to use heavy weapons in military battles, but only light weapons," al-Assad stressed noting that "the West does not ask Syria to perform reforms."
In response to a question from one of his guests for his willingness to receive Saad Hariri, al-Assad reiterated that "Syria has not closed the door in front of any one;" adding that "hours of meetings with Saad Hariri made it clear to him that the latter does not like talking in politics."
"Damascus is ready to receive all who knocks its door, and in the event of coming back from his position, we would not mind receiving him despite all the words that he said," the Syrian President concluded.
In its Friday edition, "al-Akhbar" newspaper reported that "the Syrian President confirmed to the "Coalition of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon", headed by Sheikh Ahmed Zein that "the United States is trying to cover its withdrawal from Iraq by fabricating problems in Syria."
According to "al-Akhbar", al-Assad differentiated in his dialogue between the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria and the position from the Palestinian "Hamas" movement.
Assuring that "the economic sanctions are to affect Syria, but will not be catastrophic," al-Assad added that "there will be a package of measures that will help us in facing these sanctions."
"They are to turn a blind eye to reforms if Syria surrenders to demands of former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, and to Western conditions," al-Assad explains.
Source: Al-Akhbar newspaper, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
