Syria will retaliate against any israeli aggression: FM

The Syrian government says it will give an immediate response to any possible future attacks by the israeli regime.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said in an interview with Lebanese TV station al-Mayadeen on Wednesday that any response from Damascus will be given without a warning.

“Syria will not let any israeli aggression go unanswered without retaliation. The retaliation will be the same size as the aggression, and the same type of weapons will be used,” the Syrian foreign minister stated.

Muallem said that Syria would take part in the upcoming talks in Geneva without any precondition, adding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would remain president until the next presidential election scheduled to be held in 2014.

“From now until the next elections, President Bashar al-Assad is the president of the Syrian Arab Republic,” he said.

The Syrian foreign minister also noted that any deal reached in the Geneva talks, due to be held possibly next month, would be put to a referendum inside Syria.

“If it wins the support of the Syrian people, we will go ahead with it,” Muallem said.

He reiterated that many militants from over 28 countries, including Arab neighboring countries and some European states, are fighting against the government.

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Damascus says the West and its regional allies, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, are supporting the militants.

In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that if the militants take power in Syria, they could destabilize the entire Middle East region for decades.

“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he stated.