Syria Says Will Not Give In 'Even if There Is WWIII': We'll Attack Jordan, Turkey if They Participate in Operation
Syria said Wednesday it had taken "every measure" to retaliate if hit by a feared U.S.-led military strike and would never give in, even if a third world war erupts.
In an exclusive interview with Agence France Presse, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad also insisted that Russia had not wavered in its support, despite comments by President Vladimir Putin suggesting a more conciliatory tone towards the West.
"Syria has taken every measure to retaliate against... an aggression," he said, although he refused to provide any clue as to what that might mean.
"The Syrian government will not change position even if there is World War III. No Syrian can sacrifice the independence of his country," he added.
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Muqdad warned that Syria will strike back not only at Israel, but at Jordan and Turkey if they participated alongside the U.S. in a military attack.
U.S. President Barack Obama is busy trying to convince Congress to approve a strike against the Assad regime in retaliation for a suspected deadly poison gas attack on August 21 that Washington blames on Damascus.
The regime categorically denies any responsibility for the alleged attack in Damascus suburbs and has said it is cooperating with U.N. inspectors who are currently analyzing samples taken from the sites of the suspected incident.
Analysts fear that the conflict currently tearing Syria apart will spill over permanently into fragile, neighboring countries such as Lebanon, where supporters of the Damascus regime are already pitted against its opponents.
And allies Russia and Iran have warned that any military intervention would have devastating regional consequences.
But in an interview broadcast earlier Wednesday, Putin appeared to strike a more conciliatory note by saying he did not exclude agreeing to strikes if it was proven the regime had carried out the alleged gas attack.
Yet Muqdad stressed that Moscow had not wavered in its support of Damascus.
"The Russian position is unchanged; it's a responsible position of a friend that is in favor of peace," he said.
In later comments at a Kremlin meeting, Putin appeared to corroborate this, warning the U.S. Congress that it would be legitimizing an "aggression" if it gave its blessing to military action in a vote expected next week.
Washington says the alleged chemical weapons attack on August 21 killed more than 1,400 people.
Since the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011 with an uprising against the Assad regime, more than 110,000 people have died, including over 40,100 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Source: Agence France Presse
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