MOSCOW, February 28 (Itar-Tass) —— A bid to topple the Bashar al-Assad regime Western countries can organise a bloodbath in Syria that the Middle East has never seen before, an expert said.
“[Prime Minister] Vladimir Putin rightfully pointed out in his article ‘Russia in the Changing World’ that the situation in the Middle East is fraught with very serious upheavals. The situation in Syria is generally unpredictable, and it is absolutely obvious that our Western partners and some regional powers have set the task of overthrowing the Bashar al-Assad regime by all means,” Vitaly Naumkin, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, said on Monday, February 27.
“What is being done today has no relation to humanitarian tasks or the protection of civilians. This is an example of unprecedented pressure on that country,” he told Itar-Tass. “Unfortunately, Syria has become a scene of clashes that can be described as the start of a civil war. Interfering in this civil war or taking sides cannot by any means be an objective for the international community, let alone international organisations such as the U.N. Security Council,” Naumkin said.
“One of the worst scenarios that can be foreseen with regard to Syria is undoubtedly a large-scale civil war that will develop into a regional war if interference in Syria’s affairs continues,” he warned.
In his opinion, there are some forces in the Syrian opposition that have radical views and radical religious principles. “If these forces get full support from the Western ‘camp’ and strong regional powers, they will undoubtedly start such a bloodbath in Syria that the Middle East has probably never seen before,” Naumkin said.