West hypocritical in fighting terrorism: Syria's Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has slammed the West for its hypocritical approach in the fight against Takfiri terrorists operating in the Arab country.

Assad, addressing representatives of public organizations and industries in the capital, Damascus, said on Sunday that the West has chosen a hypocritical path in dealing with the issue of terrorism.

The Western countries themselves have created the terrorist groups operating in Syria, he added.

Referring to the operations of terrorist groups in Syria, Assad said, “They [the Western countries] call it terrorism when it hits them, and [they call it] revolution, freedom, democracy and human rights when it hits us.”

'Ill ideology, distorted doctrine'

The Syrian president described terrorism as “an ill ideology, a distorted doctrine and an anomalous exercise that emerged and grew up in environments of ignorance and backwardness,” stressing that hegemonic and colonizing powers have “founded” these terrorist organizations, boosted them and are still boosting them.

Assad asked, “How could those who spread the seeds of terrorism combat it?”

He added that terrorism can be fought “through rational and realistic policies based on justice and the respect for people's will.”

'Syria after peace'

Elsewhere in his remarks, Assad said that he welcomes any positive initiative aimed at ending the ongoing crisis in the country, adding that the Syrian government considers all opportunities to end the crisis because it seeks peace.

He said any political solution to the crisis in Syria should have the fight against terror as its core, adding that any plan which is based on goals other than combating terror will not succeed.

Assad stated that the Syrian government and people have never wanted war and are fighting in a battle which has been imposed on them.

From the beginning of the crisis, Syria has relied on its army, people and some friendly countries, and has not received any support from Western hegemonic countries in the fight against terrorism, the Syrian president noted.

“After years of war, the Syrian people are still resilient, [and] sacrificing for the sake of the homeland, and if they had wanted to give up, they would not have waited all this time,” the Syrian president said.

President Assad also appreciated the support that Iran, Russia, China and Lebanon’s resistance movement, Hezbollah, have provided for the Syrian nation over the past few years of turmoil.

Foreign-backed terrorists began their deadly campaign in Syria in March 2011. The militancy by the Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 230,000 people, according to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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