Syrian President Bashar Assad says a victory for his army in the battered second city of Aleppo would be a “huge step” towards ending the country’s five-year civil war.
In an interview with Syrian daily Al-Watan to be published on Thursday, an early copy of which was seen by AFP, Assad says defeating beleaguered rebels in Aleppo would not put an end to Syria’s conflict.
“It’s true that Aleppo will be a win for us, but let’s be realistic — it won’t mean the end of the war in Syria,” Assad says. “But it will be a huge step towards this end.”
Syrian government troops patrol the newly captured al-Sakhour neighborhood in the eastern part of the northern city of Aleppo on December 7, 2016. (AFP/George Ourfalian)
Assad also calls the possibility of a truce in Aleppo “practically non-existent, of course.”
“The Americans in particular are insisting on demanding a truce, because their terrorist agents are now in a difficult situation,” Assad tells Al-Watan.
— AFP
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