Alwaght | News & Analysis Website

Alwaght- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has expressed optimism that that his country's coalition with Russia, Iran and Iraq will succeed in defeating terrorism.
“We are certain that this coalition will succeed,” Assad said in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network broadcast on Sunday.
The alliance “must succeed, otherwise we are facing the destruction of the entire region and not just one or two states,” noted President Assad. Russia, as well as the Soviet Union in the past, “[has] never tried to impose anything on Syria, especially in this crisis,” he said stressing that, as opposed to the US, Russia is against interferences, hegemony and violations of the UN Charter.
It was his first public comment since Moscow began airstrikes in Syria in support of his regime last week. Mr. Assad praised Russia, saying it had the vision and fortitude to defeat rebel forces seeking to topple him.
President Assad said he thinks that the US-led coalition against Islamic ISIS terrorist group is ineffective because the West does not want to defeat terrorist groups. In fact, it wants to preserve the balance between the warring sides to “perpetuate the process of erosion in Syria and Iraq and later other countries of the region, so that we all remain weak for decades and maybe generations.”
“How can the United States and its allies fight terrorism or ISIS in Syria and Iraq while their closest allies in the government of Erdogan and Davutoglu are supporting terrorists and enabling them to cross the borders and bring weapons, money and volunteers through Turkey?” he asked.
Since the US-led coalition was formed, terrorism expanded geographically and its recruits multiplied, the Syrian president said.
“God willing it [Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia] will be able to defeat terrorism which is a new instrument for subjugating the region,” he stressed.
President Assad once again stated that he is ready for political dialogue with all Syrians – but not with foreign powers. “Any talk about the political system or the officials in this county is an internal Syrian affair,” he said.
“When the Syrian people decide that a certain individual should stay, he will stay; and when the Syrian people decide that he should go, he will go immediately,” the president said. “If my departure is the solution, I will never hesitate to do that,” he added.
Assad stressed that no state in the world conducts dialogue with terrorists and that they should be subject to the laws and brought to justice.
“However, the state might conduct dialogue with terrorists in one case, when the objective of the dialogue is for the individuals who carried out terrorist acts to lay down their arms and embrace the state and the law,” he added, noting that this has actually happened in Syria, with the government having held talks with various reconciliation-seeking groups, granting them amnesty and giving them an opportunity to go back to their normal lives.
President Assad also pointed out that Saudi Arabia is not well-placed to speak about democracy in other countries.
“This country is the worst example and the most outdated on the global scale. Therefore, it cannot speak about these issues in the region,” Assad added.
Referring to the recent Mina stampede during Hajj which left almost over 5000 pilgrims dead, Assad said the tragic event was painful for many countries of the world which lost their citizens in the incident.
He slammed the Saudi regime for preventing Syrians from making the Hajj for the past four years for purely political reasons terming the move, very dangerous. "That is why the issue of how to manage the Hajj and who manages it started to be discussed throughout the Muslim world. The Hajj is not a Saudi event, it is a Muslim and global event. I believe that this issue needs to be discussed seriously at the level of the Muslim states, "noted President Assad.