Assad Defends Hizbullah Presence in Syria
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Syrian President Bashar Assad described on Tuesday as "legitimate" the presence of fighters from Hizbullah in Syria to back his forces against anti-regime gunmen.
"The difference (between Hizbullah and foreign anti-regime fighters) is legitimacy. Who invited Hizbullah to Syria?" Assad asked.
"It came after an agreement with the Syrian state, and the Syrian state is a legitimate state," whereas "the other terrorist forces came to kill the Syrian people,” the president told Hizbullah's al-Manar television network in an interview.
Hizbullah, along with Russia and Iran, have been Assad's major allies since Syria's revolt broke out in 2011.
They have been "beyond loyal," said Assad.
He expressed "strong confidence" that Russia will continue supporting his embattled regime.
"We have strong confidence in the Russians, as they have proven throughout this crisis, for four years, that they are sincere and transparent in their relationship with us," Assad said.
His rare television interview came as Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Syrian crisis with Jordan's King Abdullah II on the sidelines of the Maks-2015 aerospace show in Moscow.
Assad described Russia as "principled", while "the United States abandons its allies, abandons its friends."
He added: "This was never the case with Russia's policy, neither during the Soviet Union, nor during the time of Russia... Russia has never said that it supported President Such and Such and then decided to abandon him."
Assad had been asked by al-Manar's correspondent about U.S. President Barack Obama's comments earlier this month that Russia and Iran "recognize that the trend lines are not good for Assad."
He rebuffed the statement, saying Iran, too, remained a steadfast ally.
He said the recent nuclear deal between Iran and world powers would strengthen Iran's role internationally, in turn benefiting Syria.
"The power of Iran is the power of Syria, and a victory for Syria is a victory for Iran."
The president added: "We are on the same axis, the axis of resistance."
Officials in Washington and other western nations have long called for Assad's ouster, insisting he could not play a role in a political solution to Syria's crisis.
Syria's conflict began with anti-government demonstrations in March 2011.
But after a bloody crackdown by the ruling regime, it spiraled into a multi-front civil war that has left more than 240,000 people dead.
Several international efforts to bring about a political solution to the crisis have failed.
26 August 2015, 07:55
1712
The criminal assumes hezbollah is a state and he can invite it to participate in the ethnic and sectarian cleansing he is doing. He has no regard for the Lebanese State and he never did. By the same logic every Lebanese party will be invited by a foreign illegitimate government to come and fight its wars and kill its own people.
26 August 2015, 09:07
715
Assad is the last hope for peace in Syria, it's either him or the takfiris you people love so much, no other alternative.
The Resistance will continue to back him, they are not going to pull out because takfiri lovers in March 14 wants them too.
26 August 2015, 09:11
158
I cannot believe this is a martyred iranian jihadi terrorist family in your avatar!
26 August 2015, 10:46
127
We don't love the Takfiris, we don't love the Buthcher and we don't love you.
26 August 2015, 11:04
1210
No sir! We can be against Takfiris, against the Butcher and against you ALL at the same time...
Go back to school to learn some logic!!!
26 August 2015, 11:04
128
ok assume you are right Mystic, why is he barrel bombing Syrian civilians at markets and in their own homes? And i won't even talk about the chemical weapons used as I'm sure you will try and discount it.
26 August 2015, 11:22
118
@naguilahava the war didn't start like that. It was an uprising that turned nasty with these Takfiris once the Syrian army turns its guns against their own people.
And no you don't barrel bomb civilians. Thats sick logic.
26 August 2015, 11:26
810
georg, you deny the takfiris various attacks in both Syria and Lebanon against civilians? Takfiris keeps complaining and moaning about barrel bombs, just like that Douma incident, they said it was a massacre and mainly adult males died, yes they were Nusra.
26 August 2015, 11:30
107
@Mystic of course I don't deny. We know what the takfiris are and the world should be fighting them.
Yet you claim that Assad is somehow morally correct? The war didn't start with Takfiris. It was ordinary Syrians fed up of Assad and Alawite rule.
26 August 2015, 11:34
811
Alawite rule? Most party members in Baath are Muslim sunni so that is not correct.
Assad promised them reforms, then a few months later takfiris from all over the world stormed Syria from Turkey border.
My point is, you have to choose, it is either Assad or the takfiris, I guess you made your choice.
26 August 2015, 11:37
86
@Mystic, lets not sugar coat it. It was Alawite Baathist rule. Yes Sunnis did get some crumbs but its either you are get by in Syria or join the Baathist movement and make some money.
Solution in Syria is neither Assad or Takfiris. Sure member of the baathist can be part of a new government but Assad himself is lame duck. Too many civilians have been killed under his watch and by his own lieutenants.
26 August 2015, 11:49
710
Instead of whining about Assad all the time, you should rather realize how Syria was before the war, a good and thriving nation. The Syrian people would gladly go back to that, instead of the ongoing conflict, that the takfiris started.
26 August 2015, 12:17
97
Thats too myopic. Yes Syria was a better place than it is now. But what does that mean? Syrian have to accept Assad or be killed and destroy the country if you don't like it. Its very presumptuous of you to (i assume you are Lebanese) to dictate to the Syrians how and what they should accept.
Syria was under military autocratic rule. People were fed up and the country was ripped apart. External forces played a big role, but end of the day this wouldn't have happened if you had a normal functioning country.
26 August 2015, 12:26
87
Terror can happen anywhere in the world george, so I guess by your logic, America and Europe don't function aswell?
Assad did what he had to, fight Al Qaeda and their offsprings. Stop them from conquering Syria, yes george I do not want my neighbouring country to be controlled by ISIS. We have Zionists on our Southern border already.
26 August 2015, 12:43
77
Thats nonsense. Terror can happen but Syria is a failed state today because Assad was too egocentric to realize Syrians are fed up his family rule. All this is a culmination of years of their rule, leading to the war, takfiris and so on. They thrive in a vacuum. It was created when he turned on his own people.
And no one wants a fail state on their doorstep. So yes we agree on that point.
26 August 2015, 13:09
67
When people like you pijama wants those takfiris to control Syria, I for sure will not accept it, neither will any sane person.
26 August 2015, 14:27
75
Errr, well, it seems Mystic doesn't like my posts as usual, so he and his friends are thumbing me down again quite naturally. Hi guys, kilchi tamem?
26 August 2015, 14:47
41
texas, yeah it has been your wahabis goal for the past 4 years, how well did it go? You see Assad on that chair on the above picture right.
Now call it shrinking territory in the deserts for all I care, you are still far from winning yet. It will continue for years to come, if no peaceful solution is made.
26 August 2015, 16:20
02
Iran enlists Afghan refugees as fighters to bolster Syria's Assad
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-enlists-afghan-refugees-fighters-bolster-syrias-assad-071834833.html
26 August 2015, 16:30
02
Syrian government air strikes on areas east of Damascus have killed 247 people in the last 10 days, including 50 children, and wounded 1,000 more people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/toll-syrian-air-strikes-near-damascus-rises-247-152426156.html
26 August 2015, 14:10
65
What do we call this man that dump barrel bombs from helicopters on the city busy streets where shoppers are.
What do you call his father that filled the mosque in Hamah with water and then put electricity into the water.
Assad family is no different that Sharone or natanyahu family.
26 August 2015, 08:03
149
The war criminal added: "We are on the same axis, the axis of resistance."
haha! What resistance, when and where? Your history speaks for itself and even your ally Israel speaks on your behalf when the Israeli Intelligence chief describes you as "Israel's best friend in Damascus".
26 August 2015, 09:15
615
So why did Israel shell Syrian army positions last week? Your logic is a real farce.
26 August 2015, 10:57
128
what the real "Farce" is hezbollah calling itself "resistance" and defining it as "the road to Palestine goes through Syria". That is the real farce!
26 August 2015, 11:02
612
Yes there is roads from Syria that goes into Palestine. Back in the day before zionists came, Damascus and Al Quds had a direct road.
You are the farce here, acting to be progressive and moderate when you are all a bunch of takfiri supporters in March 14.
26 August 2015, 12:11
95
القوات السعودية تتوغل في #صعدة لوقف قذائف الحوثيين
glad the war is going in the right direction hahaha!
26 August 2015, 12:24
95
بعد 19 عامًا… قائد كتائب “حزب الله الحجاز” في قبضة السعودية قادماً من ايران الى بيروت
http://www.lebanese-forces.com/2015/08/26/hezbollah-hijaz-ksa/
what was he doing in Iran?
26 August 2015, 14:05
125
My dear George although I respect and admire your patience with Mystic, but I need to tell you, me too I've been that path with our dear brother, I have exercised the utmost patience with him, trust me, Mystic is a nice person and seemingly with a good heart too, honest no joke here, but trouble is, the more I voiced my opinion, the more I got labelled by him. He branded me as having switched sides, called me a Zionist, maybe a Takfiri lover. I definitely believe that Mystic needs a cure, away from his daily ration of Al Manar and OTV viewer-ship, I propose that he goes to Denmark for a year, relax, get in touch with the real word and come back to open his own TV/Radio station which I propose that it be called the Voice of Reason. I told you, he is a good chap, just needs some re-orientation.
26 August 2015, 08:36
148
An ordinary citizen in Lebanon gets arrested if he looks the wrong way at a policeman but these thugs carrying their sectarian insignia around their necks can burn the heart of Beirut and smoke their "argyleh" with total impunity.
http://www.lebanese-forces.com/2015/08/25/arguile-next-to-the-serail-front/
26 August 2015, 08:40
138
but southern said the infiltrators were Lebanese Forces (LF)?
26 August 2015, 09:25
147
They are paid 20 rials by the lebanese forces and Sa3oodi arabiyyah.
26 August 2015, 08:51
128
if you are a shiaa you can do what you want and when you want because you are part of the axis of resistance that goes through DT beirut all the way to zabadani passes through sanaa in yemen and anbar in iraq.
26 August 2015, 08:43
138
Dear President Assad
1) Do you know why i was banned?
2) Do you know when Zabadani will fall?
3) Do you know why mowaten refused the U.S nationality?
4) Do you know if southern knows how to read and write?
and finally
5) Why is the_roar so smart?
26 August 2015, 08:45
126
FT, mowaten, and presto.change.o are the 3 most informative posters on naharnet. No wonder their posts are always in the VIP section of the top rated comments.
26 August 2015, 09:09
713
What free army is that? They are now assimilated in either Nusra, Isis or another takfiri group.
26 August 2015, 09:12
149
admit it... go on... it is indeed a martyred iranian jihadi terrorist family in your avatar.
26 August 2015, 10:24
813
Teach me what? There are no such thing, Yeah you mean the free salafi army? The remnants of takfiris in Zabadani are Al Nusra.
26 August 2015, 10:40
127
why do you keep denying it is a martyred iranian jihadi terrorist family in your avatar??
26 August 2015, 10:17
74
They have lost lots of their people (counts talk about 1500) including many boys of 15 years of age....
26 August 2015, 10:34
127
The Butcher, the greatest assassin and criminal has spoken!!!
26 August 2015, 11:14
105
Look at the "Either-or" rhetoric:
Either you are with Ebola OR you are zionist/takfiri/ wahhabi/ da3ishi.
Can you imagine what these people are trying to do?
They are attacking you instead of trying to answer your argument.
Why can't they answer your argument? Because it is true.
26 August 2015, 13:55
105
Mr. Al Assad, to be honest with you, no one expected you to say anything any different from what you said. You can put your stamp of legitimacy on the presence of Hezbollah on Syrian soil but it certainly doesn't mean that it will pass, those facing you are making sure that the territory you are trying to cling to will be as arduous a task as can be. If in Lebanon it took you almost 19 years to wrench the Free Lebanon areas under the LF, and this thanks to your cowardly stooge Aoun and the rest of your Lebanese and foreign puppets in Lebanon, do you expect you and your Lebanese allies to retain Syria forever for yourselves? Mr. Al Assad, what now looks more and more certain, Syria is being cuts down to mini States, simple.
26 August 2015, 14:59
01
I hope the resent development in Babylon and Palmyra, the destruction of the historical evidence is the revenge by those who has been forced to exile from the land based on the History books, those who had to be gypsy for centuries. You got it! You have the clue, use your imagination. Stop blame each other, the middle east is passing through the resettlement and forced captivity, exile. Read books!
26 August 2015, 15:58
01
President, Man i thought Iranian cuisine is really good such as barg, koobideh, joojeh, shishleek, ghormeh sabzi, gheimeh, fesenjān...ect..
If u really dont like it than u can switch to Kabseh, or Hamburger or chateaubriand..
