What's your problem with Syria, Assad asks Turkish people
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that he considers Turkish people to be a brotherly nation for the Syrians. The Syrian leader also said that the feud between Syria and Turkey is "illogical," stressing that Damascus had not attacked Turkey and that both states have common interests.
Duvar English
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that he considers Turkish people to be a brotherly nation for the Syrians, as he commented on the recent escalation between Ankara and Damascus in Idlib.
"Of course, we're speaking about the Turkish people as a brotherly nation. I'm asking the Turkish people, what's your problem with Syria?" Sputnik cited Assad as saying on March 4.
Assad's remarks come a day before a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Idlib.
Over 30 Turkish soldiers were killed in a Syrian army attack on Feb. 27, prompting Turkey to launch Operation Spring Shield on March 1.
"What's the problem that Turkish citizens should die for?" Assad asked.
The Syrian leader also said that the feud between Syria and Turkey is "illogical," stressing that Damascus had not attacked Turkey and that both states have common interests.
"What hostile action - big or small - did the Syrian people commit against the Turkish people? There is no such thing. There are Syrian-Turkish marriages, there are families, there are vital common interests. This mutual cultural interaction is historically determined, it is illogical that we have some serious disagreement between our countries," Assad said.
Turning to the country's parliamentary elections, Assad said that they would be held as scheduled.
"The lawmaker elections will be held in a few months, they will be held on time, no matter what," he said.
On March 3, Assad’s press service said that the president issued an order slating the parliamentary election for April 13.