Syrian President Bashar Assad rejects US accusations that Syrian or Russian planes struck an aid convoy in Aleppo or that his troops were preventing food from entering the city’s rebel-held eastern neighborhoods, blaming the US for the collapse of a ceasefire many had hoped would bring relief to the war-ravaged country.
Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks to The Associated Press at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria in a photo released by the Syrian presidency on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. (Syrian Presidency via AP)
Assad tells AP that deadly US airstrikes on Syrian troops last week were intentional, dismissing American officials’ statements that they were an accident. He also says the US lacks “the will” to join forces with Russia in fighting extremists.
The president blames his enemies for nearly six years of devastation across Syria, and while acknowledging some mistakes, he denies any excesses by his troops. He says the war is only likely to “drag on” because of continued external support for his opponents.
“When you have many external factors that you don’t control, it’s going to drag on and no one in this world can tell you when” the war will end, Assad says.
— AP
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