Assad Stresses No Normal Ties with Turkey As Long As Erdogan Supports Terrorists

By Staff, Agencies

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad described the chances of normal diplomatic relations with neighboring Turkey as remote, stressing that such an idea cannot be achieved as long as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan supports Takfiri militant groups and is under the heavy influence of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement.

“Erdogan is fighting alongside terrorists [in Syria] on the basis of his Brotherhood ideology. Therefore, he himself is unable to tell Turks why he is sending his army to fight in Syria. The single reason is the Muslim Brotherhood. It has nothing to do with Turkish national interests,” Assad said in an exclusive interview with Russia's state-owned Rossiya 24 television news network that was broadcast on Thursday.

“What hostile action – big or small – have Syrian people committed against the Turkish nation during the war or even before the war? There is no such a thing. There are Syrian-Turkish marriages, there are families, and there are vital common interests. This mutual cultural interaction is historically determined. It is illogical that we have some serious disagreement between our countries,” Assad pointed out.

Assad further noted that there would be no rapprochement between Damascus and Ankara as long as “Erdogan continues to support terrorists,” adding, "He has to stop supporting terrorism, at which point things can return to normal because there is no hostility between the two nations.”

He then sharply criticized the Muslim Brotherhood, stating that its supporters “have no political, social, or religious ethics.  For them, religion is not meant for the prevalence of virtue but rather violence. Erdogan is a member of such an opportunistic cult. Hence, it suits him to do what he has already done. Lack of transparency and never-ending travesty are part of their [Muslim Brotherhood supporters'] nature.”