ASSAD: SYRIA CAPABLE OF CONFRONTING ATTACK

Damascus, 26 Shawwal 1434/2 September 2013 (MINA) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that his country is capable of confronting any external attack, a day after his US counterpart Barack Obama called for military action against him.

“Syria is capable of confronting any external aggression,” Syrian state television quoted Assad as saying on Sunday at a meeting with Iranian officials.

The statement came a day after Obama stepped back from his threat to launch an attack unilaterally, instead saying he would consult the US Congress before any such action, Aljazeera quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Monday (2/9).

“The American threats of launching an attack against Syria will not discourage Syria away from its principles or its fight against terrorism supported by some regional and Western countries, first and foremost the United States of America.”

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Faisal Mekdad, Syrian deputy foreign minister, accused Obama of indecision.

“It is clear there was a sense of hesitation and disappointment in what was said by President Barack Obama yesterday. And it is also clear there was a sense of confusion as well,” he said in Damascus.

The comments came as John Kerry, US secretary of state, said his government had obtained evidence that sarin gas was used in an attack in Syria last month that the US claims killed 1,400 people.

Hair and blood samples provided to the US from first responders on the scene of last month’s attack in Damascus “have tested positive for signatures of sarin,” Kerry told NBC and CNN television on Sunday.

The Assad regime has been accused to have stockpiles of sarin, a deadly nerve agent, while the regime has claimed that opposition have used the substance in attacks.

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The French Journal du Dimanche newspaper said Syria had 1,000 tonnes of chemicals including sarin and mustard gas, and was developing a powerful agent that was far more toxic than sarin.

French President Francois Hollande has made clear his wish to take military action alongside the US against the Syrian regime, making Paris Washington’s main ally in the Syria crisis after Britain backed out of any strikes.

In a 45-minute phone call with US President Barack Obama on Friday, Hollande said France was still determined to punish the Syrian regime.

But France said on Sunday it could not act alone against Syria after the United States stepped back from the brink, making Paris the last remaining top ally in the Western coalition to hesitate over punishing President Bashar al-Assad.

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Today Zaman reports that Turkey disappointed by the US move which will postpone any foreign intervention in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated Turkey has decided to take common action with international actors.

“We decided to act together in Syria where hundreds of thousands have been killed. That means that there might be a volunteers’ coalition being established today. It is time to take steps now. It is time to stop the killings (in Syria). It is time to take steps for those who adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to collaborate with those who adopted humanitarian values,” Erdogan said. (T/P09/P03)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)