Syria’s Assad Indicates Little Hope For Coalition With Neighbours Against ISIS

Admin 26-Aug-2015 12:59:29 Inothernews

Syria’s Assad Indicates Little Hope For Coalition With Neighbours Against ISIS


Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he was open to the idea of a coalition against Islamic State but indicated there was little chance of it happening with his enemies, casting further doubt on a Russian plan to forge an alliance against the militant group. The initiative proposed by Russia, a vital ally of Assad, would involve the Syrian government joining regional states that have backed Syrian rebels in a shared fight against the Islamic State group that controls wide areas of Syria and Iraq. In an interview broadcast on August 25, Assad said the Syrian government would not reject such an alliance, though it made no sense 'that states which stood with terrorism would be the states that will fight terrorism'.



He was referring to governments including Turkey and Saudi Arabia that have backed insurgent groups fighting to topple him in the brutal four-year-long civil war that has killed an estimated 250,000 people and shattered the country.

Bashar al-Assad

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"A small possibility remains that these states decided to repent, or realised they were moving in the wrong direction, or maybe for reasons of pure self-interest, they got worried that this terrorism is heading towards their countries, and so they decided to combat terrorism," Assad said.

"We have no objection. The important thing is to be able to form an alliance to fight terrorism," he said in the interview with al-Manar TV, which is controlled by Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The comments echo previous remarks by the Syrian foreign minister, who has said such an alliance would need 'a miracle'.

Saudi Arabia has ruled out any coalition with Assad. Like the United States, Saudi Arabia wants to see Assad gone from power, blames him for the rise of Islamic State, and says he cannot be a partner in the fight against the group.

The United States is leading an alliance in a campaign against the ultra-hardline group in both Syria and Iraq. Russia has said the United States should cooperate with Assad to fight Islamic State.

Four year long civil war in Syria has killed over 25,000 and is largely blamed on Assad

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