World Exclusive - Our Full Interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
HIGHLIGHT
Paris Match: Let’s talk about ISIS. Some people say that the Syrian regime encouraged the rise of Islamic extremists in order to divide the opposition. How do you respond to that?
Bashar el Assad : In Syria we have a state, not a regime. Let’s agree on the terms first.
Second, assuming that what you are saying is true, that we supported
ISIS, this means that we have asked this organization to attack us,
attack military airports, kill hundreds of soldiers, and occupy cities
and villages. Where is the logic in that? What do we gain from
it? Dividing and weakening the opposition, as you are saying? We do not
need to undermine those elements of the opposition. The West itself is
saying that it was a fake opposition. This is what Obama himself said.
So, this supposition is wrong, but what is the truth? The truth is that
ISIS was created in Iraq in 2006. It was the United States which
occupied Iraq, not Syria. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was in American prisons,
not in Syrian prisons. So, who created ISIS, Syria or the United States?
