ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ruled out elections to choose his successor until “defeating terrorism,” emphasizing that no timetable can be agreed before then.
The official SANA news agency quoted him as saying in an interview with Italian TV that a political process can be envisaged probably after a two-year period.
“This timetable starts after starting defeating terrorism,” Assad told the RAI UNO television in response to a date for elections.
“Before that, there will be no point in deciding any timetable, because you cannot achieve anything politically while you have the terrorists taking over many areas in Syria,” he said.
“If we talk after that, one year and a half to two years is enough for any transition,” he added. “It won’t take more than two years.”
Last week in Vienna, 19 countries that included Assad’s allies set a January 1 deadline for the start of peace talks.
The agreement calls for a ceasefire to a war that is in its fifth year, to be agreed by May 14, 2016 and for free elections to be held a year later.
The Syrian government or opposition were not invited to the Vienna meeting.
Assad also added that Syria should not be blamed for the rise of Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (ISIS).
“Al Qaeda was created by the Americans with the help of Saudi Wahabi money and ideology, and of course, many other officials said the same in the United States,” he said.
“ISIS and al-Nusra, they are offshoots of Al Qaeda. Regarding ISIS, it started in Iraq, it was established in Iraq in 2006, and the leader was al-Zarqawi who was killed by the American forces then,” he added.
“It was established under the American supervision in Iraq, and the leader of ISIS today, who is called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he was in the American prisons, and he was put in New York in their prisons, and he was released by them. So, it wasn’t in Syria, it didn’t start in Syria, it started in Iraq, and it started before that in Afghanistan,” he added.
The official SANA news agency quoted him as saying in an interview with Italian TV that a political process can be envisaged probably after a two-year period.
“This timetable starts after starting defeating terrorism,” Assad told the RAI UNO television in response to a date for elections.
“Before that, there will be no point in deciding any timetable, because you cannot achieve anything politically while you have the terrorists taking over many areas in Syria,” he said.
“If we talk after that, one year and a half to two years is enough for any transition,” he added. “It won’t take more than two years.”
Last week in Vienna, 19 countries that included Assad’s allies set a January 1 deadline for the start of peace talks.
The agreement calls for a ceasefire to a war that is in its fifth year, to be agreed by May 14, 2016 and for free elections to be held a year later.
The Syrian government or opposition were not invited to the Vienna meeting.
Assad also added that Syria should not be blamed for the rise of Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (ISIS).
“Al Qaeda was created by the Americans with the help of Saudi Wahabi money and ideology, and of course, many other officials said the same in the United States,” he said.
“ISIS and al-Nusra, they are offshoots of Al Qaeda. Regarding ISIS, it started in Iraq, it was established in Iraq in 2006, and the leader was al-Zarqawi who was killed by the American forces then,” he added.
“It was established under the American supervision in Iraq, and the leader of ISIS today, who is called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he was in the American prisons, and he was put in New York in their prisons, and he was released by them. So, it wasn’t in Syria, it didn’t start in Syria, it started in Iraq, and it started before that in Afghanistan,” he added.
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