Assad says he's not a 'puppet' of the West
- 12 years ago
Syrian President Bashar al Assad says he isn't going anywhere.
Nineteen months into an insurgency against him, the country is consumed by violence -- smoke pours out The Great Mosque in Douma as rebels fight for control of Aleppo.
In a rare television interview, Assad nixed any plan to end the conflict that would involve him leaving.
SOUNDBITE: Bashar Assad, Syrian President saying:
"I'm not puppet, I wasn't made by the West to go to the West or any other country. I'm Syrian, I'm made in Syria and I have to live in Syria and die in Syria."
He also had this warning for the West about intervening.
SOUNDBITE: Bashar Assad, Syrian President saying:
"I think the price of this invasion, if it is happening, is going to be more than the whole world can afford, because if you have problem in Syria, and we are the last stronghold of secularism and stability in the region and co-existence, it will have domino effect that affects the world, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And you know the implication on the rest of the world. I don't think the West is going in that regard. But if they do so, nobody can tell what's next.
Assad's defiant remarks coincided with more explosions throughout the country --- in Damascus and Aleppo --- in this last video posted to a social mediawebsite whose content Reuters cannot independently verify.
Nineteen months into an insurgency against him, the country is consumed by violence -- smoke pours out The Great Mosque in Douma as rebels fight for control of Aleppo.
In a rare television interview, Assad nixed any plan to end the conflict that would involve him leaving.
SOUNDBITE: Bashar Assad, Syrian President saying:
"I'm not puppet, I wasn't made by the West to go to the West or any other country. I'm Syrian, I'm made in Syria and I have to live in Syria and die in Syria."
He also had this warning for the West about intervening.
SOUNDBITE: Bashar Assad, Syrian President saying:
"I think the price of this invasion, if it is happening, is going to be more than the whole world can afford, because if you have problem in Syria, and we are the last stronghold of secularism and stability in the region and co-existence, it will have domino effect that affects the world, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And you know the implication on the rest of the world. I don't think the West is going in that regard. But if they do so, nobody can tell what's next.
Assad's defiant remarks coincided with more explosions throughout the country --- in Damascus and Aleppo --- in this last video posted to a social mediawebsite whose content Reuters cannot independently verify.