You cannot reform your society or institution without opening your mind. So the core issue is how to open the mind, the whole society, and this means everybody in society including everyone.
BASHAR AL-ASSADTo have opposition ? We have it, and you can go and meet with them. We have some of them within the government, we have some of them outside the government. They are opposition. We have it.
More Bashar al-Assad Quotes
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Actually, the terrorists have been killing our people since the beginning of this crisis two years and a half ago, and the Syrian people wanted the government and the state institutions and the army and the police to defend them, and that’s what happened.
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We’re talking about the responsibility, my responsibility according to the Syrian constitution that said we have to defend ourselves.
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Without the public support, we cannot withstand two years and a half. Look at the other countries, look what happened in Libya, in Tunisia and in Egypt.
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With the time, yes we can be worried, because the secular state should reflect secular society, and this secular society, with the time, if you don’t get rid of those terrorists and these extremists and the Wahabi style, of course it will influence at least the new and the coming generations.
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Because of this interference for the last fifty years, that’s why they are very good only in creating problems, not in solving problems. That’s the problem with the American role.
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You said treaties, and a Russian official said ; we have not agreement… contracts, that we have to fulfill, and those contracts are like any country ; you buy armaments, you buy anything you want.
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You hardly find any military base in distant areas from the [Syria] cities unless it’s an airport or something like this, but most of the military bases or centers within inhabited areas.
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There can be no peace without unity.
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It is difficult for anyone to tell you what is going to happen. [Middle East] is an area where everything is on the brink of explosion.
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Israel has WMD, and it has to sign [chemical warfare agreement], and Israel is occupying our land, so that’s we talked about the Middle East, not Syria, not Israel ; it should be comprehensive.
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We don’t have a lot of expectations [for Donald J. Trump] because the American administration is not only about the President; it’s about different powers within this administration, the different lobbies that they are going to influence any President.
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In any war, people will pay the price.
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Since the beginning of the crisis, since the terrorists started to control some areas within Syria, the majority of the Syrian civilians left that areas to join the government areas, not vice versa. If the majority of the Syrians don’t trust the government, they should go the other way.
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We feel pain for every Syrian victim.
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You should expect everything. Not necessarily through the government, the governments are not the only player in [Middle East] region.
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The majority of fighters now are Al-Qaeda. If you want to support them, you are supporting Al-Qaeda, you are creating havoc in the region, and if this region is not stable, the whole world cannot be stable.
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Under Syrian law, a journalist is not allowed to report on military matters. This may be wrong or right, but that’s just the way it is.
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I don’t believe the United States will be ready to join Russia in fighting terrorists in Syria.
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As we see now the American officials, they say something in the morning and they do the opposite in the evening. So, you cannot judge those people according to what they say. You cannot take them at their words, to be frank.
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That the rebels or the terrorists used the chemical weapons in northern Aleppo five months ago [in 2013].
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The fact that there are people who criticize me doesn’t mean that people hate me.
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When they don’t have support within their country, they couldn’t continue more than – how many weeks ? – three weeks. So, the only reason we stand here for two years and a half is because we have internal support, public support.
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We have hopes that we can see rational American presidents; fair, obey the international law, deal with other countries according to mutual respect, parity, etc., but we all know that this is only wishful thinking and fantasy.
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We are ready to cooperate in any way to achieve stability in Syria, of course taking into consideration the interest of the country, and the will of the Syrian people.
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We always say we have wishful thinking that the Unites States would be unbiased, respect the international law, doesn’t interfere in other countries around the world, and of course to stop supporting terrorists in Syria.
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In the end a lie is a lie.
BASHAR AL-ASSAD