Putin and Assad Straight Talk on Syria

Monday, 4 July 2016

Putin and Assad Straight Talk on Syria

Both leaders are on the right side of history, deserving universal support, overwhelmingly popular at home, disgracefully vilified by Western officials and their scoundrel media echo chorus.

Their remarks are candid and forthright, polar opposite Western officials’ double-talk, willful deception, their imperial agenda hostile to free societies.

Russia honorably supports Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. On Thursday, Putin said the nation “found itself at the epicenter of the fight against terrorism.”

“It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of this country does not only influence the future of the Middle East. The outcome of the fight against Daesh is being decided on Syrian soil.”

He urged international cooperation to resolve years of conflict, stressing “a final settlement is still very, very far off, but the experience gained over the last few months in Syria demonstrated that only by joining efforts toward the creation of a broad anti-terrorist front urged by Russia can we successfully confront today’s threat.”

He thanked heroic efforts of Russian officials and servicemen for “everything (they’ve done) to push back terrorists and prevent the illegitimate external forceful interference in Syria’s affairs and preserve the very Syrian statehood.”

Interviewed by Australian SBS television, Assad highlighted unacceptable Western double standards toward his popularly elected government, saying:

“They attack us politically, and then they send their officials to deal with us under the table, especially their security officials, including their government.”

“All of them do that as they don’t want to upset the US…(M)ost…only repeat what the US wants them to say,” going along with policies harming their interests.

Ending years of conflict requires international resolve to combat terrorism in Syria, Assad stressed. Instead, foreign powers support it.

All opposition groups aren’t terrorists, he explained, only ones waging war on “civilians (along with) public and private properties.”

Peace talks and ceasefire failed because foreign powers supporting terrorist groups want conflict, not resolution.

“(W)e changed the constitution. We changed the laws that the opposition asked for. We changed many things, but nothing happened,” Assad said.

He supports peace talks with all Syrian parties, “but (they) haven’t started yet…(There are) no Syrian/Syrian talks at this moment.” Agreement on basic principles must be agreed on to be fruitful, he explained.

Conflict in Syria affects the whole region and beyond, including “Russia” and “Europe.” Combating terrorism in Syria “defend(s) their stability.”

“(T)he American administration (isn’t) serious about solving the problem in Syria” it created – Hillary Clinton the main orchestrator and instigator.

“(R)eality (on the ground) is (protracted) war.” America creates problems left unsolved. “What do they want to achieve? They haven’t achieved anything,” said Assad.

“They failed in Libya, in Iraq, in Yemen, in Syria, everywhere. They only created chaos. So, if the United States wants to create more chaos it can…”

Asked how he’d like history to judge his presidency, he said he hopes he’s “the one who saved his country from the terrorists” and foreign backers supporting them.

“Anything else would be left to the judgment of the Syrian people, but this is my only wish,” he stressed.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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