Assad refuses to stand down
SYRIAN President Bashar alAssad says he welcomes a USRussian peace initiative to end Syria’s civil war, but had no plans to resign.
‘‘To resign would be to flee,’’ he told Argentine newspaper Clarin when asked if he would consider stepping aside as called for by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
‘‘I don’t know if Kerry or anyone else has received the power of the Syrian people to talk in their name about who should go and who should stay. That will be determined by the Syrian people in the 2014 presidential elections,’’ Assad said.
Assad also denied his government used chemical weapons against civilians.
We do not believe that many Western countries really want a solution in Syria
His comments come amid a rare joint push by the United States and Russia to convene a peace conference in Geneva that would bring together members of the regime and the rebels fighting to oust Assad.
‘‘We hope there will be an international conference to help Syrians overcome the crisis,’’ Clarin quoted Assad as saying.
However, he added that ‘‘we do not believe that many Western countries really want a solution in Syria’’.
‘‘There is confusion in the world over a political solution and terrorism. They think a political conference will stop terrorism on the ground. This is unrealistic.’’
Pressure for action on Syria has mounted with Western intelligence reporting that the regime has used chemical weapons on at least two occasions.
‘‘The accusations against Syria regarding the use of chemical weapons or my resignation change every day,’’ Assad said.
‘‘They said we use chemical weapons against residential areas. If they were used in a city or a suburb with only 10 or 20 victims, would that be credible?’’
Their use, he said, ‘‘would mean the death of thousands or tens of thousands of people in a matter of minutes. Who could hide something like that?’’
Meanwhile, gunmen abducted the elderly father of Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad yesterday, apparently in reprisal for the arrest of one of their relatives, according to a source.
‘‘Armed men abducted Mr Muqdad’s father from his home,’’ the government source said. ‘‘They beat him up in front of his family then took him to Daraa city.’’