President Bashar Assad
© REUTERS/ SANA/Handout via Reuters
President Bashar Assad said Sunday successful cooperation between Syria, Russia, Iran and Iraq would save the region from destruction.


Russia started carrying out airstrikes against ISIL in Syria on Wednesday, following the request of Assad.

Russia, Syria, Iran and Iraq agreed last week to cooperate on security and intelligence sharing in Syria and established an information center in Baghdad to coordinate efforts in the fight against ISIL.

Assad said the coalition had high chances to succeed, as a number of countries had already expressed their support to the coalition.

The Syrian leader stressed that Moscow's role in the national reconciliation cannot be overrated.


"When we reach a consensus as Syrians in the Moscow conference, any other conference, or any other dialogue will be bound by the consensus that we will reach in Moscow. That is why we said that Moscow 3 is essential for the success of Geneva 3," Assad told Khabar TV in an interview.

He added that Russia never tried to impose anything on Syria, especially in connection with the ongoing crisis in the country.

Assad promised to resign if it could facilitate the reconciliation in the war-torn country.



Comment: This statement shows he is not a bloodthirsty brutal dictator.


The Syrian authorities support any political measures in the country along with counterterrorism efforts, Assad said.

The Syrian president also noted that a political solution to the Syrian conflict was unlikely until a number of states continued to support terrorism.

Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, as government forces loyal to Bashar Assad have been fighting several opposition and radical extremist groups, including the Nusra Front and ISIL.

The United States and some of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against ISIL positions in both Syria and Iraq since 2014. However, the efficiency of the US-led coalition's airstrikes is questionable.

The US-led coalition has conducted airstrikes on ISIL positions in Syria without the permission of Damascus, even though international law permits the use of force in a foreign country only if it has been authorized by the UN Security Council, as an act of self-defense, or at the request of the country's authorities.