President al-Assad: Borders with Turkey Changed into Borders for Smuggling Arms and Terrorists into Syria

President Bashar al-Assad said in part 4 of an interview he gave to a Turkish daily that no matter how more intensified the sanctions could get Syria’s stances will not change.

He told the Cumhurieyt daily that the issue is not one of selling principles in return for money, or food or foreign aid, “otherwise we would have to justify the attitude of any corrupt person who sold his honor for money,” stressing that this is categorically unacceptable for people in Syria in principle and morally.

The President dismissed as untrue claims that Syria is exploiting the existing crisis between it and Turkey to provide support to the Kurdistan Labor Party, that has escalated its military operations over the past period, through allowing it to operate on the Syrian territories near the border with Turkey.

He attributed this way of thinking to those who have the habit of treachery and think the same way of other people, stressing that “treachery is not of our values,” and that security priorities in a country become different when this country is facing troubles as the situation can not be perfectly controlled and the movement of any group becomes easier.

“I believe if there was a security disorder in Turkey now, it is because of the Turkish government’s policies, and [Turkey] wants to lay responsibility upon others,” President al-Assad told the Cumhurieyt.

Asked on his vision of the Kurdish issue on the regional level, President al-Assad said “We have to believe that the power of the homeland or the power of nationalism lies in its variety…ethnic, regional and cultural diversity.”

He added that the problem is that some of the cultural components in the region were exploited for political goals as they were put in conflict with the national or nationalist interest.

He noted that a state should not be made to feel that this or that component is an element of deficiency or an element of fear, but rather an element of richness, stressing that it is not allowed for these components to go for secession.

President al-Assad said that the peoples in the region do not see an interest for them in division as they have lived together for thousands of years without problems until imperialism came to the region.

Asked about his view regarding the social, economic and psychological crises suffered by the people on both sides of the Syrian-Turkish borders, the President said “This is true, because these borders have turned into borders for smuggling arms and infiltrating terrorists into Syria.”

When asked for how long Syria could stand up in the face of the very influential blockade decisions on it, the President stressed that “Since we have rights, since we have dignity and since we are patriots, no matter how intensified the sanctions get, they will not make us change our stances.”

He added that issue “is not one of selling principles for money, food or foreign aid, otherwise we would have to justify the attitude of any corrupt person who sold his honor for money, and this is categorically unacceptable for us in Syria in principle and form the moral perspective.”

President al-Assad’s interview with the Cumhurieyt daily, represented by Utku Cakirozer, came in the framework of Syria’s policy to opening up to mass media, after a number of other Turkish media outlets have requested conducting interviews with the President.

Similar requests came from Kanal D and CNN Turk TV channels and Posta newspaper, represented by Mehmet Ali Birand, Huuriyet daily, represented by Ertugrul Ozkok, Radikal newspaper, represented by Fehim Tastekin and Haberturk newspaper, represented by Amberin Zaman.

It was agreed to grant an interview to the abovementioned media outlets. However, four of these media outlets’ representatives have not managed to come to Syria to conduct an interview with President al-Assad after having been contacted by the director of the office of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan asking them not to conduct the interview.