AP Exclusive: Assad blames US for collapse of Syria truce
DAMASCUS, Syria — He’s been stigmatized internationally, a contentious figure presiding over a ruinous civil war that seems to slip into further depravity every day. But in his power base in the Syrian capital, President Bashar Assad projected confidence — conceding nothing to his critics, and accusing the U.S. of derailing a cease-fire and lacking the “will” to fight extremists in his country.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Assad rejected U.S. accusations that Syrian or Russian planes struck an aid convoy in Aleppo this week and that his troops were preventing food from entering the city’s rebel-held areas. He maintained deadly airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition on Syrian troops last weekend were intentional, dismissing American officials’ statements that they were an accident.
In Washington, the State Department countered that Assad’s assertions were “ridiculous.”
While acknowledging that the war will “drag on” indefinitely as long as his opponents were still receiving external support from countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Assad said Syria will bounce back as a more unified state, and pledged to rebuild the ruined country and even welcome back refugees if assistance to the insurgents were to stop.