Assad urges halt to flow of terrorists to Syria and Iraq through Turkey
- hace 8 años
Damascus, Dec 11 (EFE).- Syrian President Bashar Assad, in an exclusive interview with EFE, stressed the need to halt the flow of terrorists that he said were arriving in Syria and Iraq through Turkey, as well as to block the terror financing that, in his view, was originating in Saudi Arabia.
"In Syria, we have more than 100 nationalities fighting with the extremists and terrorists, Al Qaeda and al-Nusra and others. The first step we should take in order to solve this problem is to stop the flood of terrorists, especially through Turkey to Syria and to Iraq, and of course we have to stop the flowing of money - Saudi money and other Wahhabi money and Qatari money - to those terrorists through Turkey," Assad said.
He also called for a halt to the flow of armaments and logistical support for groups battling Syrian government forces.
"We have to start with stopping the flow, and at the same time fighting terrorism from within Syria by the Syrian army and by whoever wants to support the Syrian army," Assad said.
That latter remark was a veiled reference to the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State that has carried out airstrikes against the jihadists in Syria for more than a year without any military coordination with Damascus.
Assad said organizations considered to be "terrorist around the world, like ISIS (Islamic State) or al-Nusra," have hundreds of millions of dollars and "a nearly full army like any other state," a situation he said was only possible due to the direct support of countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
He said that if the goal is a quick end to the war, "and most of the world is saying now they want to see an end to this crisis," then pressure must be placed "on those countries that, you know them, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar."
"Then this conflict will end in less than a year, definitely," the Syrian president added.
Around 250,000 people have died since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, according to the United Nations and other organizations.
SHOT LIST: INTERVIEW WITH SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD.
Keywords: efe,interview,bashar assad,syria.
"In Syria, we have more than 100 nationalities fighting with the extremists and terrorists, Al Qaeda and al-Nusra and others. The first step we should take in order to solve this problem is to stop the flood of terrorists, especially through Turkey to Syria and to Iraq, and of course we have to stop the flowing of money - Saudi money and other Wahhabi money and Qatari money - to those terrorists through Turkey," Assad said.
He also called for a halt to the flow of armaments and logistical support for groups battling Syrian government forces.
"We have to start with stopping the flow, and at the same time fighting terrorism from within Syria by the Syrian army and by whoever wants to support the Syrian army," Assad said.
That latter remark was a veiled reference to the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State that has carried out airstrikes against the jihadists in Syria for more than a year without any military coordination with Damascus.
Assad said organizations considered to be "terrorist around the world, like ISIS (Islamic State) or al-Nusra," have hundreds of millions of dollars and "a nearly full army like any other state," a situation he said was only possible due to the direct support of countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
He said that if the goal is a quick end to the war, "and most of the world is saying now they want to see an end to this crisis," then pressure must be placed "on those countries that, you know them, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar."
"Then this conflict will end in less than a year, definitely," the Syrian president added.
Around 250,000 people have died since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, according to the United Nations and other organizations.
SHOT LIST: INTERVIEW WITH SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD.
Keywords: efe,interview,bashar assad,syria.