Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has slammed neighboring Turkey for the supply of chemical agents to foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists fighting to topple the Damascus government, stressing that he has no doubt that Ankara is in cahoots with the terror groups.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Friday, Assad stated that Syrian officials are 100 percent certain that terrorists get chemical weapons as well as financial and military support directly from Turkey.
“There was evidence concerning this; some of which went viral on the Internet a few years ago. Scores of politicians and lawmakers in Turkey have questioned the government about it. So, it's not something secret,” he said.
The Syrian leader further noted that Turkey is providing terrorists with financial, military and logistic support.
“They don't have any other way to come from the north. So, it's a hundred percent Turkey,” Assad pointed out.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Syrian president blamed the Takfiri terror group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, for the bombing that struck near several buses carrying people from two Shia-majority villages in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, killing at least 126 people.
Assad said Fateh al-Sham members carried out the April 15 bombing attack in the al-Rashideen district on the western outskirts of Aleppo.
He added that several buses sent to transport the sick and injured civilians from Kefraya and al-Foua villages were also torched by foreign-sponsored and al-Qaead-linked terrorists a few months ago.
Assad also said Damascus and Moscow are engaged in negotiations to put into operation more air defense systems inside Syria.
“Damascus has always been interested in the latest generation of military hardware, but that depends on the accessibility of the systems - Russia’s policies as the supplier and prices,” he said.
The Syrian president also warned of new allegations of chemical attacks in Syria similar to claims following the suspected chemical incident in the town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib Province, which reportedly left over 80 people dead on April 4.
