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Syria’s Assad: No foreign parties to interfere in new constitution

February 18, 2019 at 12:13 pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and President Bashar Al-Assad (R) in Sochi, Russia on 17 May 2018 [Kremlin Press Office/Anadolu Agency]

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said yesterday that he will not allow “any other party” to interfere in drafting a new constitution for Syria.

During a meeting with heads of local councils, Al-Assad said that “the political process has not achieved anything so far, because aggressor states and terrorism supporters are still determined to block any serious process such as Sochi and Astana,” referring to the joint talks between Russia, Iran and Turkey aimed at resolving the Syrian civil war.

Al-Assad also accused the Syrian opposition participating in drafting the new constitution of being “mere agents of Turkey”. He continued:

The constitution is not subject to bargaining, and we will not allow enemy states to achieve through their Syrian agents who have Syrian nationality any of their objectives. The future of Syria will be exclusively decided by the Syrians.

Al-Assad said there are two parties in the constitutional committee; one representing the Syrian government, even if informally, and another whom he described as “agents” who “represent the Turkish government and not any Syrian party”.

The President then said “the enemies have failed to rely on terrorism and their agents so they moved to the third stage – that is the activation of Turkish agents in the northern regions”, referring to the regions around the northern Syrian city of Idlib which currently form part of a Turkish-monitored buffer zone.

READ: Russia’s Putin: New Syria constitution to be adopted ‘soon’