Damascus: Syria said on Wednesday it had taken “every measure” to retaliate if hit by a feared US-led military strike and would never give in, even if a third world war erupts.
In an exclusive interview with a news agency, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad also insisted that Russia had not wavered in its support, despite comments by President Vladimir Putin suggesting a more conciliatory tone towards the West.
“Syria has taken every measure to retaliate against… An aggression,” he said, although he refused to provide any clue as to what that might mean.
“The Syrian government will not change position even if there is World War III. No Syrian can sacrifice the independence of his country,” he added.
US President Barack Obama is busy trying to convince Congress to approve a strike against the Assad regime in retaliation for a suspected deadly poison gas attack on August 21 that Washington blames on Damascus.
The government categorically denies any responsibility for the alleged attack in Damascus suburbs and has said it is cooperating with UN inspectors who are currently analysing samples taken from the sites of the suspected incident.
Analysts fear that the conflict currently tearing Syria apart will spill over permanently into fragile, neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, where supporters of the Damascus regime are already pitted against its opponents.
And allies Russia and Iran have warned that any military intervention would have devastating regional consequences.
But in an interview broadcast earlier today, Putin appeared to strike a more conciliatory note by saying he did not exclude agreeing to strikes if it was proven the regime had carried out the alleged gas attack.
Yet Muqdad stressed that Moscow had not wavered in its support of Damascus.
“The Russian position is unchanged; it’s a responsible position of a friend that is in favour of peace,” he said.
In later comments at a Kremlin meeting, Putin appeared to corroborate this, warning the US Congress that it would be legitimising an “aggression” if it gave its blessing to military action in a vote expected next week.
Washington says the alleged chemical weapons attack on August 21 killed more than 1,400 people.
Since the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011 with an uprising against the Assad regime, more than 110,000 people have died, including over 40,100 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Copyright – AFP