MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - The Communist Party of Syria believes that economic reforms are needed to overcome the political crisis in the country, the party’s Secretary General Ammar Bakdash told journalists in Moscow on Tuesday.
“Certain economic leaders [in Syria] want to postpone [solving] key economic issues until the [political] crisis is over. [However], in our opinion, another approach is required: the faster economy-related measures are taken, the faster this political crisis will be over,” Bakdash said, adding that his party largely supports incumbent President Bashar al-Assad’s political agenda.
“Private ownership of key industries and enterprises, such as telecommunications, is unacceptable. We want telecommunications, along with power generation, to be 100 percent state-owned,” he added.
The communist leader expressed hope that al-Assad’s regime will withstand the current turmoil, which has plagued the country for almost two years, even despite the recent wave of deadly blasts and attacks.
By organizing such attacks, the opposition “takes revenge against social groups that do not support it, especially in Damascus and Aleppo,” Bakdash said.
Syrian state television said at least 53 people were killed and 237 injured when a car exploded at a checkpoint between the Russian Embassy and the central headquarters of the ruling Baath party last week. Another car bomb was defused nearby.
About 70,000 people have died in Syria since the start of the uprising against Assad in March 2011, according to UN figures.
