VIDEO - Syrian President Bashar Assad
maintained Sunday that his country had no intentions to develop nuclear weapons, and that a Syrian facility bombarded by Israel last September was a military site under construction.
Video courtesy of Infolive.tv
In an interview to Qatari newspaper al-Watan published Sunday, Assad stressed that Syria
opposed weapons of mass destruction, while supporting Iran's right to obtain nuclear energy. "We support the right of all world nations, not just Iran, to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but we are against weapons of mass destruction," he stated.
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Asked whether Syria, as Iran's strategic ally, will receive a nuclear bomb if Tehran succeeded in building one, the president replied negatively: "How will we use this bomb? Where will we use it? Against Israel that is killing the Palestinians? I don't think this makes sense."
The Syrian leader also predicted that "wars in the region will remain conventional. I don't think that nuclear bombs will make much of a difference and I don't think Iran has a different stance on the matter."
Picture of the Syrian facility (Photo: AFP)
Commenting on Israel's attack of its facility in September, Assad again stated that the site in question was not a nuclear reactor. "Does it seem logical for us to build a nuclear facility in the desert? And moreover one that is not protected by anti-aircraft missiles? Does it make sense for us to place a nuclear site that can be detected by satellites in an open area at the heart of the country?"
Assad refused to elaborate on Syria's potential response to the Israeli attack, opting for vague statements instead. "We do not say we will respond or strike. We understand that Israel wants to provoke Syria and perhaps drag it into war. We do not seek war and have been very clear on this point. We have other ways to act, but will not necessarily make them known."
Referring to his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday to discuss a possible renewal of the peace talks with Israel, Assad said that he demanded written assurances from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding a withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
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