
President Assad
Photo: EPA
Threat from Damascus? Extended pressure on Syria
may have implications for Israel's security, a confidante of Syrian President Bashar Assad
warned in a menacing interview published by the New York Times Tuesday.
“If there is no stability here, there’s no way there will be stability in Israel," said Rami Makhlouf, Assad's cousin, in a rare interview Monday. “No way, and nobody can guarantee what will happen after, God forbid, anything happens to this regime.”
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Asked whether his words constituted a warning or a threat, Makhlouf said: “I didn’t say war… What I’m saying is don’t let us suffer, don’t put a lot of pressure on the president, don’t push Syria to do anything it is not happy to do.”
Referring to the Syrian regime's struggle to remain in power in the face of ongoing protests, Assad's cousin stressed that the country's rulers will be fighting to the end.
“The decision of the government now is that they decided to fight,” Makhlouf said. He later added: "We call it a fight until the end.”
Meanwhile, senior Assad advisor Bouthaina Shaaban told the New York Times that the regime in Damascus now has the upper hand over Syrian protestors.
“I hope we are witnessing the end of the story,” Shaaban was quoted as saying. “I think now we’ve passed the most dangerous moment. I hope so, I think so.”
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