Al-Assad: Erdogan, Saudis Worked Hard to Send 5,000 Terrorists to Aleppo in 2 Months

Local Editor

Syria's president Bashar al-Assad shed more light on the role of foreign powers in inflaming the conflict in his country, saying that Erdogan worked hard with the Saudis to send as much as they can of the terrorists to Aleppo.

The estimation is that more than 5,000 terrorists were sent there from Turkey in the last two months, al-Assad explained over 5,000 terrorists entered the northwestern city of Aleppo via the Turkish border over the past two months.

Al-Assad's remarks came as he conducted an interview with Cuba's official news agency Prensa Latina that was released on Thursday.

He said that Turkey and its allies such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia lost most of their cards on the battlefield in Syria and now they are left with the Aleppo card.

They "worked hard ... to send as much as they can of the terrorists - the estimation is more than 5,000 terrorists - to Aleppo... during the last two months, in order to recapture the city..., and that didn't work," he added.

President Assad also referred to gains by the Syrian forces against the terrorists, saying: "Actually, our army has been making advancement in Aleppo and the suburbs of Aleppo in order to encircle the terrorists."

He further noted that terrorists active in Syria enjoy backing from around the world.

There are more than 100 nationalities participating in the war on Syria, he said, adding that the militants receive "logistical support" from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey under the supervision of the Western countries, mainly the United States, France, the UK and some other allies.

Elsewhere in his comments, Assad hailed the Russian air campaign in support of the Syrian armed forces, saying it helped the Syrian soldiers advance against terrorists.

Touching on the role of the United Nations or the Security Council in the Syria crisis, he accused the word body of operating as "an American arm, where they can use it the way they want, they can impose their double standards on it instead of the Charter."

Asked about the insistence of the US and its allies on the ouster of the Syrian government, Assad said "only the Syrian people can say who should come and go, who should stay in his position, who should leave, and the West knows our position very well regarding this."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team