29-03-2024 04:28 PM Jerusalem Timing

Assad: Turkey to “Pay Dearly” for Supporting Terrorists

Assad: Turkey to “Pay Dearly” for Supporting Terrorists

Syrian President Bashar a-Assad lashed out at Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting terrorists engaged in the fight against Damascus, saying that Ankara will “pay dearly” for its contribution in the ongoing conflict.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lashed out at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting terrorists engaged in the fight against Damascus, saying that Ankara will “pay dearly” for its contribution in the ongoing conflict.Assad

"In the near future these terrorists will have an impact on Turkey. And Turkey will pay very dearly for its contribution," Assad said an interview to be broadcast Friday on Turkish television.

"It is not possible to use terrorism as a card and put it in your pocket. Because it is like a scorpion which won't hesitate to sting you at any moment," he told the opposition station Halk TV.

He was being interviewed over the presence of Al-Qaeda-linked rebels on the long and volatile border between the two nations.  

"It is not possible to use terrorism as a card and put it in your pocket. Because it is like a scorpion which won't hesitate to sting you at any moment," said Assad.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has become one of the most fervent supporters of armed groups fighting the Syrian government.

"All that he says about Syria and its people is a heap of lies, that is all... Erdogan is doing nothing but supporting the terrorists," said Assad.

The Syrian leader again denied having perpetrated a chemical weapons attack outside Damascus in August.

He said his country's arsenal of chemical weapons -- to be destroyed under a United Nations resolution -- were in the hands of special forces who were the only ones capable of using them.

"Preparing these weapons is a complex technical operation... and a special procedure is necessary to use them which requires a central order from the army chief of staff. As a result it is impossible that they were used."

The Syrian president asserted that he would run for a re-election bid if he finds that the public will approves this direction.

"I will run for the re-election bid if the Syrians want me to do, and the coming few months will clarify the matter with respect to me," he said.

President Bashar al-Assad said that crisis has proved the Kurds' patriotism, clarifying that granting them federal or autonomous government has been tackled by the media outlets only.

"What is being proposed concerning a new ruling system in Syria–federal, con-federal, presidential, or parliamentary–must be part of the publically approved Constitution," he stated.

As the Kurds have been supporting the supreme national interests since the beginning of the crisis, any political solution will take into consideration the Kurdish great role.

"The government supports all the Syrians who defend their country against the terrorists," President Assad said.