NEWS LINE is pleased to publish extracts from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s interview with the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
Interviewer: ‘Mr President, you have rejected any form of foreign intervention and have warned that this would extend the battle to wider areas, have you reached this?’
President Assad: ‘Let’s be clear about this, there are two types of foreign intervention: indirect through proxies or agents, and direct intervention through a conventional war.
We are experiencing the former. At the beginning of the crisis I warned that intervention in Syria – even indirectly, is similar to tampering with a fault line, it would lead to shockwaves throughout the region.
At the time, many people – especially in the media, understood this as President Assad threatening to extend the crisis beyond Syria’s borders. Clearly they did not understand what I meant at the time, but this is exactly what is happening now.
‘If we look at the reality in front of us, we can see clearly that what is happening in Iraq now, and in Lebanon previously, are repercussions of the situation in Syria, and this will only extend further and further.
We are seeing these ramifications and the intervention is still indirect, so imagine the consequences of military intervention?
The situation will, of course, be much worse and then we will witness the domino effect of widespread extremism, chaos and fragmentation.
‘Relations with Russia and Iran are cooperation guaranteed by international law.’
Interviewer: ‘You criticise countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Britain for their interference in the Syria crisis, isn’t it true that Russia and Iran are also involved?’
President Assad: ‘There is a significant difference between the co-cooperation of states as opposed to the destabilisation of a certain country and interference in its internal affairs.
Cooperation between countries is conceived on the concept of mutual will, in a way that preserves their sovereignty, independence, stability and self-determination.
Our relationship with Russia, Iran and other countries that support Syria are cooperative relations certified under international law.
‘The countries you mentioned, have adopted policies that meddle in Syria’s internal affairs, which is a flagrant violation of international law and our national sovereignty. The difference therefore, is that cooperation between countries is intended to preserve stability and perpetuate the prosperity of these nations, whilst foreign interference seeks to destabilise countries, spread chaos and perpetuate ignorance.’
Interviewer: ‘Mr President, you are fighting Jabhat Al-Nusra in Syria. Can you tell us about it, what is this organisation, who supports them, who supplies them with money and weapons?’
President Assad: ‘Jabhat Al-Nusra is an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group with an identical ideology, whose members live in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan as well as other Arab and Muslim countries; they are very well financed and have plenty of arms.
It is difficult to trace their sources due to the fact that their support resides in a covert manner through wealthy individuals and organisations that adopt the same ideology.
‘Their primary aim is to establish an Islamic State in accordance to their interpretation of Islam. Central to their political thought is the Wahhabi doctrine – comparable to Al-Qaeda’s in Afghanistan. This ideology is administered wherever they are present, especially on women.
‘They claim to be applying Sharia Law and the Islamic Religion; however, in reality their actions are a complete distortion of the real religion of Islam. We have seen examples of their brutality on our satellite channels taken from footage they publish on purpose on YouTube in order to spread their ideology; a recent example was the beheading of an innocent man, which was aired on Belgian TV.’
Interviewer: ‘What is the motivation for Saudi Arabia and Qatar to assist and arm the terrorists against you, what do they seek to achieve?’
President Assad: ‘Firstly, I believe that this is a question they should be answering. I will respond by raising a few questions. Do they support the armed gangs because of their vehement belief in freedom and democracy as they claim in their media outlets?
Do they harbour any form of democracy in their own countries, in order to properly support democracy in Syria.
‘Do they have elected parliaments or constitutions voted on by their people? Have their populations decided at any time during the previous decades on what type of governing system they want – be it monarchy, presidency, principality or any other form? So, things are clear: they should first pay attention to their own nations and then answer your question.
‘France and Britain look for puppets to carry out their interests.’
Interviewer: ‘In this quagmire, why do Britain and France delegate leadership to Saudi Arabia and Qatar? What do they hope to achieve?’
President Assad: ‘I also cannot answer on behalf of Britain or France, but I can give you the general impression here. I believe that France and Britain have an issue with the “annoying” Syrian role in the region – as they see it.
These countries, like the United States, are looking for puppets and dummies to do their bidding and serve their interests without question. We have consistently rejected this; we will always be independent and free.
‘It seems as though France and Britain have not forgotten their colonial history and persist in attempting to manipulate the region albeit through proxies. Indeed, Britain and France can direct Saudi Arabia and Qatar on what they should do, but we must also not forget that the policies and economies of France and Britain are also dependent on petrodollars.
‘What happened in Syria was an opportunity for all these countries to get rid of Syria – this insubordinate state – and replace the president with a “yes man”. This will never happen neither now nor in the future.’
Interviewer: ‘The European Union has not renewed the arms embargo imposed on Syria and yet it has not approved arming the opposition. What is your assessment of this step?’
President Assad: ‘Clearly there is a split within the European Union on this issue. I cannot state that the EU is supportive of the Syrian government; there are countries, especially Britain and France, who are particularly hostile to Syria.
On the other hand, there are countries – Germany in particular, which are raising logical questions about the future consequences of arming the terrorists. Well firstly, that would perpetuate the destruction in Syria, forcing the Syrian people to pay an even heavier price.
‘Secondly, by supplying arms, they are effectively arming terrorists, and the Europeans are well informed that these are terrorists groups. Some are repeating the American rhetoric of “good fighters and bad fighters” – exactly as they did a few years ago with the ”good Taliban and bad Taliban, good Al-Qaeda and bad Al-Qaeda’. Today there is a new term of “good terrorists and bad terrorists” being promoted. Is this logical?
‘When terrorism prevails, it will spread towards Europe.’
Interviewer: ‘Mr President, Britain and France claim to have clear evidence that chemical weapons have been used. The White House has stated that it possesses information to ascertain this claim, which consequently led to the death of 100 to 150 people in one year, in addition to that you have denied the UN investigators access to areas in Syria except for Aleppo. How do you explain the situation?’
President Assad: ‘Let’s begin with the statement from the White House regarding the 150 casualties. Militarily speaking, it is a well-understood notion that during wars, conventional weapons can cause these number of deaths, or even higher, in a single day, not in a year. Weapons of mass destruction generally kill thousands of people at one given time; this high death toll is a primary reason for their use.
It is counter-intuitive to use chemical weapons to create a death toll that you could potentially reach by using conventional weapons.
‘America, France, Britain and some European officials claimed that we have used chemical weapons in a number of areas. Regardless of whether such weapons exist or not, we have never confirmed or denied the possession of these weapons.
‘Had they obtained a single strand of evidence that we had used chemical weapons, do you not think they would have made a song and dance about it to the whole world? Then where is the chain of evidence that led them to such a result?
‘These allegations are ludicrous. The terrorist groups used chemical weapons in Aleppo; subsequently we sent an official letter to the United Nations requesting a formal investigation into the incident. Britain and France blocked this investigation because it would have proven the chemical attacks were carried out by terrorist groups and hence provided conclusive evidence that they (Britain and France) were lying.
‘We invited them to investigate the incident, but instead, they wanted the inspectors to have unconditional access to locations across Syria, parallel to what inspectors did in Iraq and delved into other unrelated issues. We are a sovereign state; we have an army and all matters considered classified will never be accessible neither to the UN, nor Britain, nor France. They will only be allowed access to investigate the incident that occurred in Aleppo.
‘Therefore, all the claims relating to the use of chemical weapons is an extension of the continuous American and Western fabrication of the actual situation in Syria. Its sole aim is to justify their policies to their public opinion and use the claim as a pretext for more military intervention and bloodshed in Syria.’
Interviewer: ‘Fighting terrorism has become the priority now. In reference to your recent interview most probably on Al-Manar television, you stated that if you were to engage in a dialogue, you would rather do so with the master than the slave. To what extent are you prepared for dialogue with these entities in the future once you have effectively fought terrorism?’
President Assad: ‘It is for this precise reason that we will attend the Geneva conference. I used the notion of the master and the slave to explain what we know will happen in reality. Negotiating with those who have no autonomy over their own decisions essentially means that you are in fact negotiating with the decision makers who dictate to them how to act, what to accept and what to reject.
‘You will have seen on television recently footage of the French Ambassador to Syria giving the external opposition orders and insulting them, or the American Ambassador to Syria shouting and insulting them. Therefore in reality, we are negotiating with the United States, Britain, France and their regional instruments, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Those groups who call themselves external opposition are mere employees; hence the masters and the slaves.
‘We hope the Geneva conference will push forward the dialogue process in Syria.’
