Beirut: Syrian President Bashar Al Assad on Thursday rejected calls that he seek a safe exit, vowing he would “live and die in Syria”, in an interview with Russian Arabic-language channel Rusiya Al Yaum.
“I am not a puppet and the West did not manufacture me in order that I leave to the West or any other country. I am Syrian, I am Syrian-made, and I must live and die in Syria,” he said.
He also warned that a foreign intervention to deal with Syria’s conflict would have “global consequences.”
Al Assad said he does not see the West embarking on a military intervention in Syria and warned that the cost of such action would be unbearable, Russia Today reported on Thursday, citing an interview with him.
“I think that the cost of a foreign invasion of Syria — if it happens — would be bigger than the entire world can bear... This will have a domino effect that will affect the world from the Atlantic to the Pacific,” he said.
“I do not believe the West is heading in this direction, but if they do, nobody can tell what will happen afterwards,” he said.
