Al-Assad: Strikes on Syria Risks Igniting Regional War in Powder Keg of ME

Local Editor

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Monday that Western military strikes would risk igniting a "regional war" in the "powder keg" of the Middle East.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, al-Assad also said France would face "repercussions" if it took part in US-led plans for military action in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack by Assad's regime last month.

"The Middle East is a powder keg, and the fuse is getting shorter," al-Assad told the newspaper's correspondent in Damascus, in a rare interview.
In parallel, al-Assad mentioned: "we cannot only talk about a Syrian response, but what could happen after the first strike. Nobody knows what will happen."

"Everyone will lose control of the situation once the powder keg explodes. Chaos and extremism will spread. There is a risk of regional war," he added.
Al-Assad also said France, which has said it is prepared to back Washington in threatened military strikes, should consider the consequences of such action.
"Whoever works against the interests of Syria and its citizens is an enemy. The French people are not our enemy, but the policy of their state is hostile to the Syrian people," he said.

Moreover, the head of the Syrian state confirmed: "sofar as the policy of the French state is hostile to the Syrian people, the state will be its enemy... There will be repercussions, negative ones of course, on the interests of France."
On the permanent situation, al-Assad clarified: "Discussing a solution at the beginning of the crisis is very different to discussing it today. From the beginning I have emphasized that a resolution can only be achieved through dialogue, which would lead to solutions that can be implemented through political measures."

"The situation today is different; today we are fighting terrorists, 80-90% of them affiliated to al-Qaeda," he said, and pointed out that "these terrorists are not interested in reform, or politics, or legislations. The only way to deal with the terrorists is to strike them; only then can we talk about political steps."
In regard to the solution, al-Assad said: "The solution today lies in stopping the influx of terrorists into Syria and stopping the financial, military or any other support they receive."

He also accused "Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan as well as France, America and Britain of supporting the militants."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team