Jumblat Says he Will Go to Syria Only after Regime Collapses
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has said that he would visit Syria only if the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad collapses and the country is “liberated.”
In remarks to French-language daily L'Orient Le Jour, Jumblat said: “Neither I nor my son have planned for a single moment to go to Damascus.”
“We will head to Damascus when it is liberated from the group that is now in power,” he said.
Jumblat's remarks came in response to accusations by Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali that the PSP chief had contributed to a campaign against the Syrian regime by twisting facts and protecting armed elements.
He said ties between the regime and Jumblat were totally cut.
Reports that the doors of Damascus were open for Jumblat's son Taymour were not true, the diplomat added, drawing the PSP chief's retaliatory remarks.
"He is a deceptive person," Jumblat told the daily about the ambassador.
Ali also lashed out at the U.S. for being the maestro of an aggression which takes Syria as a battlefield.
He said Turkey is an essential springboard for the armed rebels while Saudi Arabia is a major financial backer.
Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad are fighting rebels seeking to topple him.
The fighting erupted in early 2011 when Assad launched a crackdown on pro-democracy protests and has since evolved into a full-blown civil war that has claimed an estimated 126,000 lives.
Source: Naharnet
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