Newly confident Assad criticizes Western nations
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday refused any security cooperation with Western nations or the reopening of their embassies until they cut ties with opposition and insurgent groups.
Shortly after Assad gave his speech, a shell hit the first international fair in the country since the war began six years ago, killing and wounding several people.
Assad’s defiant comments come at a time when his troops and pro-Iranian militiamen are gaining ground across the country under the cover of Russian air strikes. Many countries have ceased calling for him to step down.
Speaking before dozens of Syrian diplomats in Damascus, Assad praised Russia, Iran, China and Lebanon’s Hezbollah for supporting his government during the conflict. He said Syria will look east when it comes to political, economic and cultural relations.
“The direct support of our friends, politically, economically and militarily, made our advance on the ground greater and the losses of war less,” Assad said.
“Let’s be clear. There will be no security cooperation nor opening of embassies or even a role for some countries that say that they want to play a role in ending the crisis in Syria before they clearly and frankly cut their relations with terrorism.”
After months of steady military advances, Syria’s government has sought to portray itself as the victor in a war that is winding down, and is looking ahead to reconstruction. The Syrian president said his country’s economy is turning to growth again “at a very slow pace, although we are under an almost complete embargo.”
The government had billed the international trade fair, which opened three days ago, as a “victory” and a sign of renewed confidence in the war-torn nation. The Mortar News in Damascus Facebook page, which tracks violence in the capital, said the shell hit the entrance of the fair, killing four people.
The Syrian crisis began in March 2011 with a peaceful uprising against Assad’s government, later escalating into a full-fledged civil war after a brutal government crackdown and the rise of an armed insurgency. The conflict has since killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced half the country’s population.
In the early years of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries called on Assad to step down, and both the U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on his government.