“Syria fights against mercenaries, not innocent citizens”

Syrian President Bashar Assad insists his regime is fighting against foreign mercenaries who want to overthrow him, not innocent Syrians aspiring for democracy. In his first interview since December, the Syrian president is still standing his ground, despite widespread international condemnation over his deadly crackdown on dissent. “Syria fights against mercenaries, not innocent citizens” "There are foreign mercenaries, some of them still alive. They are being detained and we are preparing to show them to the world," he told Russian state news channel Rossiya-24. Assad also cautioned against meddling in Syria, warning neighboring nations that have served as transit points for contraband weapons being smuggled into the country that "if you sow chaos in Syria you may be infected by it yourself." He did not elaborate, but rebels and anti-regime activists say Syrian forces have mined many of the smuggling routes where weapons flow into Syria -- mainly from neighboring Turkey and Lebanon, AP has reported. Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000, still has a firm grip on power in Syria some 14 months into a revolt that has torn at the country's fabric and threatened to undermine stability in the Middle East, AP says. The UN estimated in March that the violence has killed more than 9,000 people and hundreds more have been killed since then as a revolt that began with mostly peaceful calls for reform transforms into an armed insurgency. The Syrian president pointed to recent parliamentary elections as the cornerstone of his reform agenda. The elections were the first under a new constitution, adopted three months ago, that allows political parties to compete with Assad's ruling Baath party. But the opposition boycotted the May 7 polls and said they were orchestrated by the regime to strengthen Assad's grip on power. "To call for boycotting the elections, that's the equivalent of calling for a boycott of the people," Assad told the Russian TV. "And how can you boycott the people of whom you consider yourself the representative?" "So I don't think that they have any kind of weight or significance within Syria," he added. Assad's last major media interview was in December, with ABC's Barbara Walters. The decision to grant a rare interview to Russian TV speaks to Damascus' close ties with Moscow. Russia has been Syria's most powerful and loyal ally over the course of the uprising. Syria is the Kremlin's last ally in the Middle East, offering Moscow its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union and a stable market for the Russian arms industry, AP points out. Russia, along with China, has used its veto power to shield Damascus from UN sanctions. UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan is expected to visit Syria this month, Assad said. He added that he intends to complain to Annan about what he called one-sided criticism of Syria. The West "talks about violence, but violence from the side of the government, not a word about terrorists," Assad said. "We are waiting for this, as we have before. Mr. Annan will come to Syria this month, and I will ask him about this matter," he added. Annan brokered a peace plan that calls for a cease-fire by both sides of the conflict, and a dialogue to help quell the crisis There is little support for military intervention of the type that helped bring down Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, and several rounds of sanctions and other attempts to isolate Assad have done little to stop the bloodshed. “Assad is doomed", Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday, urging the international community to increase pressure on his embattled regime. Assad's departure would be a "major blow" to Iran as well as Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, he told CNN, while stressing the importance of Russia's role in finding a way out of the current crisis. He also warned that only Assad and the elites around him need to go, and not other structures of the Syrian regime including the army. I'm quite frustrated for the slowness of its collapse. I believe that he [Assad] is doomed anyhow. I believe that there is a need to raise our voices both for moral reasons and practical ... much more loudly," Barak told CNN. Beta

“Syria fights against mercenaries, not innocent citizens”

"There are foreign mercenaries, some of them still alive. They are being detained and we are preparing to show them to the world," he told Russian state news channel Rossiya-24.

Assad also cautioned against meddling in Syria, warning neighboring nations that have served as transit points for contraband weapons being smuggled into the country that "if you sow chaos in Syria you may be infected by it yourself."

He did not elaborate, but rebels and anti-regime activists say Syrian forces have mined many of the smuggling routes where weapons flow into Syria -- mainly from neighboring Turkey and Lebanon, AP has reported.

Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000, still has a firm grip on power in Syria some 14 months into a revolt that has torn at the country's fabric and threatened to undermine stability in the Middle East, AP says.

The UN estimated in March that the violence has killed more than 9,000 people and hundreds more have been killed since then as a revolt that began with mostly peaceful calls for reform transforms into an armed insurgency.

The Syrian president pointed to recent parliamentary elections as the cornerstone of his reform agenda. The elections were the first under a new constitution, adopted three months ago, that allows political parties to compete with Assad's ruling Baath party.

But the opposition boycotted the May 7 polls and said they were orchestrated by the regime to strengthen Assad's grip on power.

"To call for boycotting the elections, that's the equivalent of calling for a boycott of the people," Assad told the Russian TV. "And how can you boycott the people of whom you consider yourself the representative?"

"So I don't think that they have any kind of weight or significance within Syria," he added.

Assad's last major media interview was in December, with ABC's Barbara Walters.

The decision to grant a rare interview to Russian TV speaks to Damascus' close ties with Moscow. Russia has been Syria's most powerful and loyal ally over the course of the uprising. Syria is the Kremlin's last ally in the Middle East, offering Moscow its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union and a stable market for the Russian arms industry, AP points out.

Russia, along with China, has used its veto power to shield Damascus from UN sanctions.

UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan is expected to visit Syria this month, Assad said. He added that he intends to complain to Annan about what he called one-sided criticism of Syria.

The West "talks about violence, but violence from the side of the government, not a word about terrorists," Assad said.

"We are waiting for this, as we have before. Mr. Annan will come to Syria this month, and I will ask him about this matter," he added.

Annan brokered a peace plan that calls for a cease-fire by both sides of the conflict, and a dialogue to help quell the crisis

There is little support for military intervention of the type that helped bring down Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, and several rounds of sanctions and other attempts to isolate Assad have done little to stop the bloodshed.

“Assad is doomed", Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday, urging the international community to increase pressure on his embattled regime.

Assad's departure would be a "major blow" to Iran as well as Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, he told CNN, while stressing the importance of Russia's role in finding a way out of the current crisis.

He also warned that only Assad and the elites around him need to go, and not other structures of the Syrian regime including the army.

I'm quite frustrated for the slowness of its collapse. I believe that he [Assad] is doomed anyhow. I believe that there is a need to raise our voices both for moral reasons and practical ... much more loudly," Barak told CNN.