{"id":179399,"date":"2019-11-28T06:31:53","date_gmt":"2019-11-28T04:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sana.sy\/en\/?p=179399"},"modified":"2019-11-28T11:34:38","modified_gmt":"2019-11-28T09:34:38","slug":"president-bashar-al-assads-interview-given-to-paris-match-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/?p=179399","title":{"rendered":"President al-Assad in an interview given to French Paris Match Magazine: War against terrorism hasn\u2019t finished yet\u2026 Presence of French forces in Syria is an occupation, French government should return to international law"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>Damascus, SANA- President Bashar al-Assad affirmed that the war against terrorism in Syria hasn\u2019t finished yet in spite of the significant advance in it, and that terrorism still exists in northern areas, and the support provided to terrorists is still continued by Turkey, the U.S., Britain and France.<\/p>\n

In an interview given to French Paris Match Magazine, President al-Assad said that the presence of French troops on the Syrian territory without the acceptance of the Syrian Government is considered an occupation, and a form of terrorism and what is required from the French Government is to return to the international law and to stop everything that could increase the bloodshed, killing and suffering in Syria.<\/p>\n

The President pointed out that there is no cooperation between Syria and the U.S. in anything as there couldn\u2019t be a cooperation in combating terrorism with those who support terrorism, indicating that Bush killed a million and a half Iraqis under the pretext of democracy ; Sarkozy contributed to killing hundreds of thousands of Libyans under the pretext of freedom for the Libyan people; and today, France, Britain, and America are violating international law under the pretext of supporting the Kurds, who are a part of the Syrian population, not an independent group.<\/p>\n

President al-Assad noted that every terrorist in the areas controlled by the Syrian state will be subject to Syrian law, indicating that Erdogan is trying to blackmail Europe in the issue of extraditing terrorists or any convicted person to their states, and this this is an immoral act.<\/p>\n

Following is the full text of the interview:<\/p>\n

Question 1<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Good morning. \u00a0I met you five years ago, specifically in November 2014. \u00a0At that time, your<\/span><\/span> government controlled only a third of the country. \u00a0Today, your army has returned to the border regions with Turkey. \u00a0Do you feel that you have won the war?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0Let\u2019s be precise, it is not my war to win or lose. \u00a0The narrative pushed by the West is: the war of the President who wants to remain in office; while in fact, it is a national war – the Syrians\u2019 war against terrorism.<\/p>\n

You are correct in your statement that we have made significant progress in this war, since we last met, but that doesn\u2019t mean that we have won. \u00a0We will win when terrorism is eliminated. \u00a0It is still present in certain areas in the north, and what is more dangerous is that support for this terrorism still continues from Turkey, and from Western countries – whether it\u2019s the United States, Britain, or France.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it is too early to talk about victory.<\/p>\n

Question 2:<\/strong> <\/span>\u00a0Do you really think that France continues to support terrorism?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0Definitely; in previous periods, they were supplying weapons.\u00a0 This may have changed in the previous months, or last year, but let\u2019s put things into perspective: when French forces come to Syria without an invitation from the legitimate government, this is occupation. \u00a0There\u2019s no real difference between supporting terrorism and providing military forces to occupy a country. \u00a0It is the same context, but with different titles.<\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> \u00a0But the French came to support the Kurds who were fighting ISIS. \u00a0That was their mission.<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0But, can we send Syrian forces to fight terrorism in France, without the request of the French government?! \u00a0Globally, states are governed by international law, not by their intentions. \u00a0It is not enough to have the desire to fight terrorism; there are international rules for fighting terrorism, and of course, here, I am presuming that there are good intentions. \u00a0However, we do not believe that there are good intentions. \u00a0The Syrian government is fighting ISIS, why wasn\u2019t it supported? \u00a0And why does the French government fight ISIS and yet support al-Nusra, when in fact they are both terrorist organisations?!<\/p>\n

Question 3:<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Perhaps you are referring to the period when Hollande was President of the Republic. \u00a0Actually, the French Foreign Minister, Fabius, himself said at a certain point that you do not deserve to remain alive. \u00a0What is the position now with Emmanuel Macron? \u00a0Have you felt a change in the French position?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0In form yes, in substance no.\u00a0 When there is occupation, it is one form of terrorism.; we need to acknowledge this fact. \u00a0We need to talk about change in substance not in form.\u00a0 We are not interested in statements, but with action on the ground.<\/p>\n

Question 4:<\/strong><\/span> How do you want change to happen on the ground?<\/p>\n

President Assad: <\/strong>\u00a0Simply, by going back to international law. \u00a0We do not ask the French government for anything; we do not ask for political, economic, or security assistance. \u00a0We don\u2019t need them, and we are capable of managing our own affairs in Syria. \u00a0But we want them to return to the international order, which doesn\u2019t exist at the moment.<\/p>\n

Today, there is international chaos. \u00a0We don\u2019t want them to support the President, this is of no concern to me; it doesn\u2019t concern us if they say he is good or bad, this is also a Syrian matter. \u00a0But what we do demand is that they stop supporting everything that could cause more bloodshed, killing, and suffering in Syria.<\/p>\n

Question 5:<\/strong> <\/span>\u00a0France faces a real problem related to the Jihadists in Syria. \u00a0Do you have Jihadists in your prisons?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0Regardless of nationalities, this is a matter for the competent authorities who have the statistics. \u00a0But in any case, if there are Jihadists, they are subject to Syrian laws.<\/p>\n

Intervention: <\/strong>\u00a0But you should know if there are French nationals in your prisons?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0I don\u2019t have any statistics. \u00a0For us, terrorists are terrorists, whether they were French or Syrian.<\/p>\n

Question 6:<\/span> \u00a0<\/strong>If you signed an agreement with the Kurdish \u201cPeople\u2019s Protection Units,\u201d and the army entered that region and restored all this land, you\u2019ll find that there are prisons, and in these prisons, there are 400 French Jihadists. \u00a0What are you going to do with them?<\/p>\n

President Assad: <\/strong>\u00a0Every terrorist in the areas controlled by the Syrian state will be subject to Syrian law, and Syrian law is clear concerning terrorism.\u00a0 We have courts specialized in terrorism and they will be prosecuted.<\/p>\n

Intervention: <\/strong>\u00a0So, you don\u2019t intend to repatriate them to Europe as Recep Tayyip Erdogan has done, for instance?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0Erdogan is trying to blackmail Europe. \u00a0A self-respecting man doesn\u2019t talk like this. \u00a0There are institutions and there are laws. \u00a0Extraditing terrorists or any convicted person to another state is subject to bilateral agreements between countries; but to release people from prison knowing that they are terrorists and sending them to other countries to kill civilians – this is an immoral act.<\/p>\n

Question 7:<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Going back to the ongoing conflict, eight years of war, the country devastated, whole cities destroyed, half the population are displaced or refugees, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. \u00a0Do you acknowledge that you wouldn\u2019t have won this conflict or this war without Russian or Iranian support?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0War is tough and not easy, and we are not a superpower. \u00a0We have been fighting against the wealthiest and most powerful countries in the world. \u00a0Logically, there is no doubt that the support of our friends has reduced losses and helped us regain our territories.<\/p>\n

If we are to ask, whether Syria would have, without this support, gone towards partition or full defeat? \u00a0This is a hypothetical question now, because sometimes it is difficult to predict the result of a tennis match involving two players, let alone a war with tens of players and hundreds of thousands of fighters!<\/p>\n

Question 8:<\/strong><\/span> Have you thought, for a single moment during this war, of leaving, going into exile, for instance?<\/p>\n

President Assad: <\/strong>\u00a0In fact I haven\u2019t, for a simple reason: the option neither existed nor was it considered, it was only suggested by Western officials.\u00a0 As far as I\u2019m concerned, it doesn\u2019t exist and it doesn\u2019t concern me. \u00a0I would not consider this option unless it was suggested by the Syrian people, and when I say the Syrian people, I mean the majority. \u00a0I do not mean a terrorist minority, nor a minority hatched up by foreign intelligence services, nor a minority of those who demonstrated because they were paid to do so by Qatar. \u00a0This option was never suggested by the majority and that\u2019s why I remained.<\/p>\n

Question 9:<\/strong><\/span> But militarily, al-Nusra Front reached places only a few kilometers from your residence in 2013, to al-Abbasiyeen neighborhood, al-Abbasiyeen Square.<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0That\u2019s true. Damascus remained almost besieged for years, sometimes completely, sometimes partially; shells were falling on us on a daily basis. \u00a0This in itself was a greater motive for me to remain and defend my country, not to flee. \u00a0I am doing my constitutional duty in defending the people against terrorism.<\/p>\n

Question 10:<\/strong> <\/span>\u00a0Now, let\u2019s talk about reconstruction. \u00a0It is said that reconstruction will cost 300 or 400 billion Dollars. \u00a0Do you have a plan to get the people out of this conundrum, despite the embargo and the sanctions imposed on you which actually harm the people and increase their suffering?<\/p>\n

President Assad: <\/strong>\u00a0This is absolutely true. Nevertheless, some of our industries have expanded, not the other way around. The pharmaceutical sector, for instance, has expanded. \u00a0As to rebuilding what has been destroyed, you can visit Aleppo, which had suffered large-scale destruction at the hands of terrorists, and year-on-year, you can see a difference and that the state is rebuilding the city together with its population.<\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> \u00a0But the Syrian Pound is in very bad shape, at an all-time low, and you need to find foreign investment. \u00a0Does China, for instance, and other countries want to invest?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

President Assad: <\/strong>\u00a0Most recently, in the past six months, some companies have started to come to invest in Syria. \u00a0Of course, foreign investment remains slow in these circumstances, but there are ways to circumvent the sanctions, and we have started to engage with these companies, and they will come soon to invest.\u00a0 But this doesn\u2019t mean that the investment and reconstruction process is going to be quick, I am realistic about this.<\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> What are your estimates, how many years?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> This depends on how many years the embargo will continue, and the methods it will use. \u00a0It also depends on Syrians returning from other countries, which they are starting to do so gradually. \u00a0It\u2019s difficult to give an answer to this question, but of course, it is a process that will be on-going for years.<\/p>\n

Question 11:<\/strong> <\/span>How many Syrians have returned to Syria?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0Over a million Syrians in less than a year, and the process is accelerating, particularly after Damascus and the southern region and its environs were liberated. \u00a0Of course, the return of Syrians is also related to rebuilding the infrastructure and the availability of other services, like electricity, schools, and hospitals; regrettably, these three sectors have been the worst-affected by the embargo. \u00a0Furthermore, there is Western pressure for refugees not to return to Syria, for them, this is a humanitarian card which can be used to achieve political objectives.<\/p>\n

Question 12: <\/strong><\/span>\u00a0A large number of immigrants left the country because they opposed you, and because they suffered from the atrocities of the army. \u00a0How can you invite them back? \u00a0How do you encourage them to come back? \u00a0Would they be covered by a general amnesty, for instance?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0First, most of them are supporters of the state and not the opposite. \u00a0The evidence of this was the presidential elections which they took part in 2014 and voted for the President. \u00a0The largest number immigrated because of the war itself and its economic consequences, so there is no problem with their return; these people can return normally and without an amnesty.\u00a0 Others are dissidents who have not committed any crimes and there is no warrant for them, the fact that they oppose me is not an issue, since we have dissidents within Syria and we are constantly engaging with them.<\/p>\n

With regards to the amnesty, we have granted amnesties more than once, most recently a few months ago, because some people fear returning without an amnesty and believe that they will be arrested; although only those who carried weapons are arrested, and even those have been pardoned.<\/p>\n

Question 13:<\/strong><\/span> Last year, when al-Ghouta returned to government control, I went there and met some young rebels who carried weapons. \u00a0The Syrian officers were asking them to hand in their weapons and that they will not be harmed. \u00a0Their response was: you want us to give up our weapons because you want us to join the army, and we don\u2019t want to. \u00a0They left to Idleb. \u00a0What\u2019s your take on that?<\/p>\n

President Assad: <\/strong>\u00a0In actual fact, some of those who went to Idleb left their families with us (government-controlled areas)<\/em> and we are taking care of them; if they were afraid, they would not leave their families. This is the first point, the second, is that there are some militants who went to Idleb but later returned to our side. They asked and we allowed them to return. They received an amnesty, because the majority of them were told that the army will kill you. This happened of course when they were isolated from the state for seven years, but when the army went into al-Ghouta, normalcy was restored, and people now live a normal life. We must realise that some of them were fighting not because they were extremists, but they had no other choice: either to fight with the terrorists or to be killed. They are returning to us gradually after the felt reassured.<\/p>\n

Question 14:<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Today, there are numerous demonstrations in Iran, and the same in Lebanon and Iraq. \u00a0And all those demonstrators are asking for dignity and for wealth not to be concentrated in the hands of the few in their country. \u00a0Wasn\u2019t that the case of the demonstrators who went out at the beginning of the Syrian crisis?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0If we want to talk about the banners that were being pushed – like dignity, freedom, and others, they can be beautiful masks but what lies behind them is ugly. \u00a0Let me give you some examples: \u00a0Bush killed a million and a half Iraqis under the pretext of democracy; Sarkozy contributed to killing hundreds of thousands of Libyans under the pretext of freedom for the Libyan people; and today, France, Britain, and America are violating international law under the pretext of supporting the Kurds, who are a part of the Syrian population, not an independent group. \u00a0In Syria in 2011, these very same banners – dignity and freedom – were used to kill policemen and civilians, and sabotage public property. \u00a0Therefore, we should be more concerned with the facts on the ground and what\u2019s actually happening than with headlines.<\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> \u00a0But in the beginning, there was a popular uprising, and real demands. \u00a0There was no existence of Al Qaeda. \u00a0Why did you use violence at the beginning?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0Let\u2019s talk numbers: the largest number of demonstrators in Syria was 170,000. \u00a0For arguments sake, let\u2019s assume this number is inaccurate and so let\u2019s multiply it several times over to reach a million demonstrators; the Syrian population is over 23 million, so these figures are not representative of anything.\u00a0 So, in terms of size it is not a popular uprising. \u00a0Second, a popular uprising does not occur when people are paid by Qatar to demonstrate.\u00a0 Third, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to remain, with the government, in power for nine years in the face of a popular uprising. \u00a0No one can withstand a popular uprising, and an example here is the Shah of Iran \u2013 despite all attempts and Western support, they could not keep him in power.\u00a0 So, calling it a popular uprising is wrong or at least unrealistic.<\/p>\n

Question 15:<\/strong><\/span> At the beginning of the war in 2011, you released prisoners from Sednaya. \u00a0You are accused of doing that in order to inject Jihadist poison in the ranks of the opposition. \u00a0How do you respond?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0Every few years, we grant an amnesty to prisoners in Syria. \u00a0This was a general policy before the war. \u00a0When an amnesty is issued, there are some categories which are excluded like espionage, drug trafficking and others.\u00a0 However, in the law we did not have a category called extremists and so the amnesty includes everyone.<\/p>\n

In 2011 specifically, there were convicts who were released because they had served their sentences and not because of an amnesty. \u00a0What do we gain if we release extremists or terrorists in order to kill officers of the Syrian Army and civilians?! \u00a0The Western narrative said that we did so in order to demonize the peaceful demonstrations; but in fact, they demonized themselves because in the early weeks, they posted videos \u2013 which can be found on the internet \u2013 where they killed policemen, attacked and slaughtered civilians.\u00a0 This is actually what happened concerning the release of prisoners.<\/p>\n

Question 16:<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0I talked a short while ago about Sednaya, but you have other prisons and detention centers. \u00a0A colleague of mine named Manon Loizeau who made documentaries about rape cases in your prisons. \u00a0What do you say to that?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0There is a difference between policy being implemented and individual action. \u00a0Harassment or rape are not prevalent in Syrian society; but if there are such cases, they are punished by law. \u00a0These are individual cases.<\/p>\n

We condemn any such policy anywhere in the world because it is immoral; it also undermines stability in Syria.\u00a0 You cannot talk about stability and a peaceful relationship among the population if there was killing, torture, or any other kind of abuse.<\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> Those documentaries were filmed with Syrian witnesses, and these incidents happened to them. They were not talking about things happening in their society because they were ashamed of them. But they were witnesses who suffered from these practices?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0No. You are talking about a story. A story is one thing and documented proof is another. \u00a0Everything that was presented was unsubstantiated, the photos were not verified.\u00a0 Who are those witnesses? \u00a0They were hidden and not named. \u00a0In most of these cases, Qatar financed these reports, and adopting them would need a professional investigation.\u00a0 If we were to put morality aside, logically, we do not have an interest in such acts.<\/p>\n

This is against our interests, so why should we do it?! \u00a0What do we achieve through torture?! What is the result – revenge?! \u00a0If you go to the areas which were under the control of the opposition and then were retaken by the state, you will see the opposite. \u00a0We are not schizophrenic: tolerant in one place and torturing people in another. \u00a0These are mere political allegations.<\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> \u00a0Once again, I stress, i.e. there is an emphasis on this point, but these witnesses were not funded by Qatar. \u00a0They were witnesses who were met in refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan. \u00a0And they suffered. \u00a0And the person who documented these testimonies is a very trusted journalist.<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0There is no such thing as trust in these cases. \u00a0There are mechanisms and there are verified facts, there is no room for stories. \u00a0Who verified the witnesses\u2019 stories? \u00a0Who verified that those witnesses had actually suffered to start with? \u00a0I can discuss this story with you when I have the facts in front of me, but I can\u2019t discuss rumors or stories. \u00a0When facts exist, those who commit any crime are prosecuted by Syrian law, this is the norm.<\/p>\n

Question 17:<\/strong> <\/span>\u00a0Donald Trump mentioned Syria when he extended thanks upon the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. \u00a0Did you give the Americans information, and did you know the whereabouts of al-Baghdadi?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0I always laugh when this question is raised, because the more important question which should be asked is: was al-Baghdadi really killed or not? And did this \u201cfantastic play\u201d staged by the Americans take place in reality?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> But ISIS acknowledged that!!<\/p>\n

President Assad: <\/strong>\u00a0Yes, of course. \u00a0But ISIS was created by America; ISIS is part of the play and they taught al-Baghdadi how to act when he was in American prisons in Iraq. \u00a0That\u2019s why I\u2019m saying did this big play actually take place? \u00a0We don\u2019t know. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t mean that he wasn\u2019t killed, but if he was, it wasn\u2019t because he was a terrorist. \u00a0They were able to strike ISIS when it was taking oil from Syria to Iraq, but they didn\u2019t; and when ISIS attacked the Syrian Army in Deir Ezzor, the Americans bombed the Syrian Army instead of ISIS. \u00a0So, no, we did not cooperate with the Americans over anything. You cannot cooperate in the fight against terrorism with those who are supporting terrorism.<\/p>\n

Intervention:<\/strong> \u00a0So, why did Trump thank you?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0It\u2019s one of Trump\u2019s cute jokes. \u00a0It\u2019s a joke.<\/p>\n

Question 18:<\/strong> <\/span>In our meeting in 2013, you assured me that the Syrian Army never used chemical weapons in al-Ghouta. \u00a0But after that came the case of Khan Sheikhoun, and then Douma. Why is the evidence mounting up suggesting that the Syrian Army used chemical weapons?<\/p>\n

President Assad:<\/strong> \u00a0To date, there isn\u2019t a single shred of evidence; the use of these weapons would have caused the deaths of hundreds or thousands of people and this did not happen.<\/p>\n

As to this build-up: firstly, it was because the Syrian Army was advancing in the fight against terrorism and they were looking for a pretext to strike at it, and that\u2019s what happened. \u00a0This narrative was used in two situations: either because we had made a significant advance, and it was an attempt to threaten us in the hope we\u2019d stop, or because we were preparing for a large operation, and so it was an attempt to threaten us before the start of the operation.<\/p>\n

Second: we were advancing and making good progress, so why would we need chemical weapons? \u00a0That is the question. \u00a0More importantly, every place we enter, there are civilians whose lives return to normal. \u00a0How could they remain there while we were using chemical weapons?! \u00a0In fact, the lies in Western media and in Western politics have no limits on this subject.<\/p>\n

Journalist :<\/strong> Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Damascus, SANA- President Bashar al-Assad affirmed that the war against terrorism in Syria hasn\u2019t finished yet in spite of the significant advance in it, and that terrorism still exists in northern areas, and the support provided to terrorists is still continued by Turkey, the U.S., Britain and France. In an interview given to French Paris …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":179400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434,1,429,22],"tags":[1348,14727,13063,2341,1039],"class_list":["post-179399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-mr-president","category-news-not-sorted","category-presidency-of-arabic-syrian-republic","category-slide","tag-interview","tag-magazine","tag-match","tag-paris","tag-president"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179399"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=179399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/179400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=179399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=179399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.sana.sy\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=179399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}