Syria’s leader has singled out Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Kingdom, saying they have “directly supported” terrorism.
President Bashar al-Assad made the comments in an interview that appeared Wednesday with Russia’s state-run Sputnik news agency. It’s not the first time his government has accused other countries of supporting terrorists. The regime often refers to any rebels, not just groups such as ISIS, as terrorists.
Other governments have long refuted such allegations while accusing the Syrian government of committing horrific acts against civilians and others during five-plus years of civil war in the embattled country.
Still, Assad’s remarks show he remains defiant in the face of the ongoing international effort to forge some sort of peace in Syria.
Speaking to Sputnik, Assad said the “reconstruction process will rely on the three main states that have supported Syria during this crisis — that’s Russia, China and Iran.”
“I suppose that a lot of countries that were against Syria, I mean first of all Western countries, will try to direct their companies to take part in this process,” he added. “However, for us in Syria, there is absolutely no doubt that we will ask, first of all, our friendly states.”
Assad’s forces have made some inroads in fighting, recently retaking the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS. Yet the war continues, as does the suffering of the Syrian people — more than 250,000 people have been killed, more than 1 million injured and millions displaced since the bloodshed began in 2011, according to the United Nations.
Moreover, factions fighting to topple the regime remain opposed to Assad despite some apparent diplomatic progress in recent weeks.
A ceasefire has taken hold in parts of the country after others fell apart quickly. Russia also announced a withdrawal of its troops from Syria.
Still, Assad’s remarks are more evidence that the war — of words, at least — continues.