All news

Bashar al-Assad promised to strike terrorists in Syria with iron fist

Syrian President said that Syria is now to decide what kind of state it will be
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

BEIRUT, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied the possibility of a political dialogue with the opposition rebels and called for striking the terrorists “with an iron fist.” He made this statement on Syrian television on Sunday.

“No solution can be reached with terror except by striking it with an iron fist,” the Syrian president said, stressing “I don't think that any sane human being would think that terrorism can be dealt with via politics.”

Assad dismissed the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCR) as a “failure that could not play any role” in resolving the crisis in the country, which, he said, can only be settled after terrorism is stamped out in the country.

Bashar al-Assad added that Syria is now to decide what kind of state it will be - “a law-governed state or a state where the power belongs to thieves and bandits.”