"And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness, the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us. But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief. "

Khalil Gibran (How I Became a Madman)

Lübnan Marunîleri / Yasin Atlıoğlu

NEWS AND ARTICLES / HABERLER VE MAKALELER

Friday, September 13, 2013

President al-Assad's speech to Rossiya 24 TV channel- SANA


Damascus, (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad gave a speech to Rossiya 24 TV channel.

Following is the full text of the speech;

Interviewer: Why did Syria agree to the Russian initiative which proposes handing over its chemical weapons to the international community? Why so rapidly?

President al-Assad: Over 10 years ago, Syria presented the UN with a proposal for a WMD-Free Middle East; this was because the region is turbulent and has been immersed in wars for decades. Thus removing unconventional weapons would be rational in order to enhance stability, at that particular time the U.S hindered the proposal.

Firstly, in principle we strive for peace and stability therefore we do not perceive the existence of WMD’s in the Middle East to have any positive effect. Secondly, in relation to current developments, Syria as a state genuinely seeks to avert another war of lunacy on itself and countries in the region, contrary to the efforts of warmongers in the U.S who seek to inflame a regional war. We continue to pay the price of U.S wars, be it in geographically distant Afghanistan or neighbouring Iraq. We believe that a war on Syria shall be destructive to the region and embroil it in a quagmire of instability for decades or generations to come. Thirdly, and most remarkably, what was most encouraging was the Russian initiative itself, without which we would not have been able to pursue this path.


Our relations with Russia are founded on trust which grew during the crisis throughout the last two and a half years. The fact that Russia has proven itself to have an insight into events in the region with high credibility as a reliable major power encouraged Syria to work towards signing the Chemical Weapons Convention.