By Spiegel. Translated by the European bureau of Vestnik Kavkaza
Yesterday Syrian rebels announced the beginning of a wide-scale operation aimed at freeing Damascus from governmental troops. They spread the message through social nets. The deputy foreign minister of Syria Feisal Al Mikdad expressed the view of official Damascus.
- Mr. Mikdad, you have recently returned from Iran and Russia. Has the Russian government offered political asylum to Bashar Assad?
- Why should they? This topic has never been discussed. We will win. The question on a political asylum is a part of the psychological war. President Assad said that he was born there and would die there.
- Even your supporter, the Russian deputy foreign minister Bogdanov, has recently said that the Syrian government is losing control over the territories. Why do you hope for a victory?
- We are optimistic and significantly strong for overcoming the challenge. Even if an alliance of Western countries which state that they will establish democracy and freedom in our country will attack us. Four months ago Aleppo was one of the safest cities in the world. Now I congratulate human rights activists and democrats with destruction of the Mosque of the Ummayyads and the historic center of Aleppo. As for the Russian position, we appreciate it.
- Russia has its own interests: Tartus is the only Russian military port in the region, 50,000 Russians live in Syria, and military trade between the countries is developed. As for destructions, the government is guilty in most of them.
- I can only warn Europeans not to support these groups. These people are fighting not only against Syria, but also against order in all civilized countries in the future – like in our country today.
- The Syrian government believes in an international plot. How can the Western countries and their allies benefit from collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime?
- The USA and Israel will benefit. If Syria is divided into parts and be under international pressure, the Arab-Israeli conflict will be forgotten. Israel would live safely, occupying the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. We are the only neighbors of Israel, who continue the Arab deeds.
- This revolution initially was a riot of people against the government which oppresses them. Many people say that they were arrested after peaceful demonstrations and beat and tortured in prisons.
- Ask some other Syrians on their views. President Assad agreed for demonstrators’ demands in many ways: he canceled the law on the emergency situation; now we have a new constitution; there is no monopoly of the BAAS party; it is permitted to establish new parties; new elections have been held; new laws on gathering have been adopted. But all these things are ignored by the West. After Assad had made concessions, the escalation began. What do these so-called revolutionaries want?
- Apparently, it was done too little and too late. People don’t trust you anymore.
- This riot was organized and sponsored by foreign forces. Fighting groups get billion dollars from certain countries of the Gulf – it is the world-scale hiring business with billion-dollar turnover. President Assad heard political demands of his people and wants peace with them – with all representatives of the nation, he said on January 6th. If military fights and foreign support stop, we can gather and define the country’s future.
- The opposition and foreign countries accept Assad’s speech coldly. How can a man invite for gathering if people fight for his overthrowing?
- Foreign countries have no right to determine destiny of Syrian President. Let Syrians do it, who will put their votes into ballot boxes. We will never let anyone ruin independence of our country. If the president gives in, it will lead to a final strike and destruction of the whole country. To prevent the situation, President Assad is ready for everything.
- Syria used to have good relations with Turkey and normal relations with Saudi Arabia. Where did hatred come from?
- We have been trying to improve relations with Turkey for a long time, but we realized that “the Muslim brother” Erdogan strives for absolutely different goals. He plans to return the Muslim Brotherhood legally to Syria with the help of such extremist groups as al-Qaeda and al-Nusra. It will establish a powerful net from Egypt to Tunisia, Libya, Syria, and Iraq – a new Ottoman Empire. Premier Erdogan and the foreign minister Davutoglu are responsible for deaths of thousand Syrians as they hide militant groups in their country and keep the border with Syria open. Why doesn’t the UN do anything with Turkey?
- What is the problem between Syria and Saudi Arabia?
- Saudi Arabia is under pressure of the USA and supports certain religious groups struggling here due to these reasons. At the same time, the kingdom is aware of the fact that it damages its own mid-prospect interests. They have to get rid of dependence on Americans as soon as possible.
- Why should Americans wish destruction of Syria?
- The only explanation is protection of Israel. Everything started from sanctions, and now we have these developments. I should say these so-called “friends of Syria” who meet in Doha, Istanbul, and Marrakesh are real enemies of my country, and the American ambassador orders to them. However, the events are out of their control now.
- Does the armed Syrian opposition consist only of terrorists like the Syrian state television says?
- It includes various groups. The government made mistakes in the socio-economic sphere of course. But the armed opposition wanted escalation of the conflict from the very beginning. Provocateurs hide among peaceful demonstrators and kill both policemen and protesting people.
- Demonstrators state that the regime severely interfered with protests and even nurses and doctors who treated injured people disappeared behind bars.
- It is military propaganda, as well as massacres in Homs which were said to be committed by governmental troops ahead of voting for the resolution on Syria in the UN. We have captured murderers: they slaughtered 60 people by knives. They were headed by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
- Rebels are standing in 600 m from the gates to the old city; residents of Damascus head blasts and shots day and night. For how long will you resist?
- We can resist for a long time if the opposite side continues in the same way.
- The UN special envoy Lahdar Brahimi stated in Damascus that now Syria has a choice between a political process and hell.
- We want a political process…
- … but on your conditions…
- and all sides of the conflict have to prevent turning Syria into hell.
