Assad: West Follows
Same Scenario in Syria, Ukraine to Weaken
Russia
Western countries, interfering in Syria’s
internal affairs, are following the same
scenario as in Ukraine to weaken Russia,
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday.
By Sputnik
March 26, 2015 "ICH"
- "Sputnik"
- DAMASCUS — Assad said his goal as Syria’s
president is to resist foreign interference
in the country.
“There is a connection between the Syrian
crisis and what is happening in Ukraine.
Firstly, because both countries are
important for Russia. Secondly, because
there is a goal in both cases to weaken
Russia and create puppet states,” Assad told
Russian reporters.
“It is clear that the duty of any state is
to protect the interests of the people and
the country. And, of course, the role of the
government is to implement these interests.”
The Syrian authorities
will not oppose the revival and expansion
of a Russian naval facility in the port of Tartus
if Moscow decides to do it, President Bashar
Assad said on Thursday.
"We
welcome the expansion of Russian presence
in eastern Mediterranean, especially
near our shores and in our ports," Assad
said in an interview with Russian
journalists.
The naval facility in Tartus,
established in Soviet times, has been used
for the maintenance and resupply of Russian
warships in the Mediterranean.
With the escalation of the
Syrian crisis, Russia withdrew all military
personnel from the Tartus base and replaced
them with civilian workers. However,
after the deployment of a large naval task
force in the Mediterranean in 2013, Moscow
has been considering the revival of the
facility.
He added that a decision
on the expansion of the Tartus facility must
be taken by the Russian authorities.
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