Alwaght- The Syrian president hailed the Iran's support for his country’s war on terrorism that he says would have gone differently without the support.
President Bashar Assad says the Russian air power and the Iranian support came in a time when his country lacked balanced power against the inpouring terrorists.
In an interview with the British weekly The Sunday Times, he said “What made the difference, of course, was firepower. They have firepower we don't have. At the end, we were fighting an unlimited reserve of terrorists coming to Syria and we struggled, so Russian firepower and Iranian support has compensated.”
He also rejected claims that Moscow is controlling his country and interfering in Syria, saying Moscow is not looking for political deals with the Damascus government.
“They never try to interfere because they don't want anything from us. They don't ask us to be a puppet president,” Assad commented.
Bashar Assad went on to explain that western powers have "becoming much weaker" in his conflict-ridden country as government forces, backed by fighters from allied popular defense groups, are gaining more ground in battles against foreign-backed terrorists.
“In the past, if I said anything, people would say the Syrian president is disconnected from reality. Now it is different. The West is becoming much weaker,” Assad said.
The 51-year-old Syrian leader further questioned the role that the so-called US-led military coalition is playing in the fight against ISIS terrorists, saying, “They don't have a leg to stand on explaining to people what's going on. ISIS was smuggling oil and using Iraqi oil fields under American satellites and drones to make money, and the West was not saying anything.”
The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to an estimate by United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.
