Assad Says Western Action would Cause 'Quake,' Appeals for Russian Support
Syrian President Bashar Assad has warned that any Western action against his country would cause an "earthquake" that would inflame the region, in an interview published in a British newspaper.
The Sunday Telegraph said Assad warned of "another Afghanistan" if foreign forces intervened in Syria as they did with the Libyan uprising that led to the killing of Moammar Gadhafi.
"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake -- do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans?," the paper quoted Assad as telling it.
"Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region," he said in his first interview with a Western journalist since Syria's seven-month uprising began in March.
His comments come after mass protests calling for the imposition of a Libya-style no-fly zone on Syria and renewed violence on Friday and Saturday in which dozens of security forces were reportedly killed.
Assad said "many mistakes" had been made by his forces in the early part of the uprising against his regime but insisted that his forces were now only targeting "terrorists.”
"If you sent in your army to the streets, the same thing would happen. Now, we are only fighting terrorists. That's why the fighting is becoming much less," he told the Sunday Telegraph.
He described the uprising as a "struggle between Islamism and pan-Arabism (secularism), adding: "We've been fighting the Muslim Brotherhood since the 1950s and we are still fighting with them."
Assad also said that Syria had responded differently to Arab leaders in countries like Egypt, Tunisia and Libya where regimes have been overthrown this year, insisting that he had begun reforms.
"The pace of reform is not too slow. The vision needs to be mature. It would take only 15 seconds to sign a law, but if it doesn't fit your society, you'll have division … It's a very complicated society," he said.
Assad told Russian television on Sunday he expected continued support from Moscow even as his regime comes under growing condemnation for its crackdown on the opposition.
"First and foremost, we are relying on Russia as a country with which we are bound by strong ties, in the historic perspective," Assad told Moscow's Channel One television.
"Russia's role is extremely important," Assad said in a clip of an interview that will be broadcast in full at 1700 GMT.
"Starting from the first days of the crisis, we remained in constant contact with the Russian government. We give a detailed account to our Russian friends of the latest developments," he added.
Source: Agence France Presse
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