Assad: Hizbullah Fights ’Israeli’ Enemy, Events in Syria Aim to Strangle Resistance
Local Editor
The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tackled on Thursday Hizbullah's presence in al-Qusayr, the Geneva 2 conference, and the advanced S-300 missile system that Russia intends on delivering to Syria.
Syrian President, in an interview with Lebanese al-Manar TV Channel, deliberated the latest developments in the region and answered many questions regarding the delivery of Russian S-300 advanced missile systems.
Asked why after two and a half years the Syrian regime decided to shift from the state of defense to the state of attack, Assad stated, "In our defense or attack ...we were dealing with the situation, not only through the military aspect, but through several aspects, such as the political and social."
"Many Syrians were deceived at the beginning. Internally, it wasn't possible to act in the same way while there wasn't consensus about a certain cause. Undoubtedly, development of events helped the Syrians to realize what was taking place, to realize the truth, and this helped the Armed Forces more in performing their duties and achievements," he added.
Asked about what Hizbullah is doing in Syria, President Assad stated, "We cannot separate between what was recently raised about Hezbollah from al-Qusayr battle from an "Israeli" attack. After the latest speech of [Hizbullah Secretary General] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Arab and Western media brought up that Hizbullah fighters were fighting in Syria and defending the Syrian state."
"Why didn't we see Hizbullah in Damascus and Aleppo? The largest battles took place in Damascus and Aleppo, not in al-Qusayr. So all the titles posed about Hizbullah's participation are irrelevant," he argued.
"All the wail and grief we heard on Arab media, in Arab officials' statements, in Western officials' statements, and even [UN Secretary General] Ban Ki-Moon said he was scared of Hizbullah in al-Qusayr, all this aimed at strangling the resistance. It did not have anything to do with defending the Syrian state," the Syrian President affirmed.
Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad related the Syrian war to "Israel" saying, "I reassure that the battle, the developments in Al-Qusayr, and all the wail we hear are related to "Israel". They want to strangle the resistance. This old-new battle takes in each time a different shape. Now, the important thing is not al-Qusayr as a city, but the borders. They want to strangle the resistance by land and sea."
"It is said that the resistance should direct its arms at the enemy, hence at the South. They said that the resistance shifted its weapons to the inside. Why is Hizbullah present on the borders in Lebanon or in Syria? Because the battle is against the "Israeli" enemy and its agents in Syria or in Lebanon.""Even the "Israeli" interference with the terrorists or its support of the terrorists aimed at strangling the resistance and hitting the Syrian air defenses," he remarked.
Asked why the "Israeli" attacks on Syria weren't treated with a direct response, the President said, "If we want to respond to "Israel", it should be a strategic response."
Furthermore, responding to a question on how things are in Syria, he said, "There is clear public pressure towards opening the Golan front for the resistance. There is even Arab enthusiasm, as Arab delegations want to come and fight "Israel"."
The al-Manar interviewer asked Assad, "Are [the S300] missiles on their way to Damascus? Does Syria own these missiles now?"
"I want to say that neither Netanyahu's visit, nor the crisis itself or its circumstances affected weapons importation. All we agreed on with Russia will be accomplished, and a part of it was completed in the last period. We and the Russians are going on with implementing contracts."
On the resigned coalition chief Maath Al-Khatib's proposal to President Bashar in allowing him, along with 500 figures chosen within 20 days to leave the Syrian territories and the crisis would end, he replied, "The presence or absence of the president is related to the Syrian people."
"Do you, the Syrian leadership, believe that the negotiation table will be inevitably held and negotiations will kick off next month?" the interviewer asked, in which the President answered, "Yes we believe so, unless other states hinder it. For our part in Syria, we declared two days before that we have agreed - in principle - upon attending."
Clarifying what the term "in principle" meant, he said, "The principle of Geneva 2 is right, but if they demand conditions, we may reject them and refuse to participate."
"They say they want a transitional government in which the president has no role. In Syria, we have presidential system, where the president is only interested in the Presidency of the Republic and does not head the cabinet. The Syrian constitution grants the cabinet full powers where the President is the General Commander of Army and Armed Forces and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, while other institutions belong directly to the government," President Bashar reiterated regarding the concept of a transitional government.
Asked about whether the President will run for presidential elections in 2014, he stated, "It's still early to tackle it, but when the time comes and I feel the need to stand for the elections, this need will be again identified by my communication with citizens and my consciousness that they hope for this candidacy. Yet, if I feel that the Syrian people don't hope for it, it is axiomatic that I will not run for elections."
Regarding the Lebanese role in Syria and the Lebanese intervention in Syria, Assad asked, "Has Lebanon been able to prevent smuggling terrorists and weapons into Syrian, or to give them the shelter from Syria to Lebanon? No it hasn't."
Source: al-Manar, edited by website team
