Assad’s rights must be recognized in Syria talks: Commentator

Press TV has interviewed Redwan Rizk, a political commentator in Beirut, to discuss the remarks made by the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, saying he expects the talks on Syria to result in a clear roadmap, if not an agreement, to resolve the crisis in the war-ravaged country.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Please go over some of the comments made by Staffan de Mistura most notably how he outright rejected this so-called Plan B alternative?

Rizk: Well let’s say that the countries who violated or attacked or baked up the terrorism in Syria - Saudi Arabia and Turkey - we know that they are the main countries who supported those terrorist groups violating the peace in Syria and destroying the country all over the years and they were supported and financed by the countries, known countries who are supporting terrorism everywhere and especially we are talking here about the Saudis and the Turks. They are trying to impose what so-called a transition period without President Bashar al-Assad playing any part in the future of Syria or has anything to decide or any role in the future of Syria which has been rejected by the Syrian government.

I believe so far that these talks are not going to lead anywhere unless that everybody will recognize the rights of President Bashar al-Assad to be …, as stepping forward to be a candidate for the next presidential election it is going to take place whenever the government is deciding. We know now that we are having …, we are nearby or close to the election of the parliament house in Syria and that [President Assad might] call for a presidential election with a short-term, shorting the terms in his office and calling for new presidential election in 18 months time.

This is a probability just to prove to the world that President Bashar al-Assad [is] still mastering or gaining the majority of the Syrian people. At least we know that calling for a Plan B without President Bashar al-Assad is something that the people who are trying to impose such ideas, maybe are dreaming or are not living any kind of reality because we know that President Bashar al-Assad  became not only a president of Syria, became a symbol of heroic president, of heroic leader.

As we know that for five years he has faced the world. We do not deny that the allies of Syria had helped Syria a lot but we also must recognize that it was a world war against a small country which the balance of force or power are questionable because we cannot just put in the same scale Syria with the rest of the world.

We know that Turkey is a big country, Saudi Arabia with lots of power and as we know money and America and the Europeans, they all at the first two years did not understand that Syria is fighting terrorism, is protecting the world from being invaded by terrorist groups, by taking over cities.

Now the picture is upside down, the whole idea is being turned the other side. Now the world [is] facing or fighting terrorist groups and everywhere in the world and this is the picture that we are going to see everywhere for the next coming years unless the countries who are supporting or just influencing those kinds of, or those terrorist groups, these attacks will not stop.

So first we have to dry off or dry out the sources of support coming from the countries and they must be brought to international or legal justice. The United Nations is not doing what they should do. So these acts going or taking place in many capitals from Africa to Europe and to other Arab countries like Tunisia is facing also terrorist groups, so we must understand  that Syria is not going to fall and the future of Syria is going definitely with President Bashar al-Assad being the leader of Syria.  

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