Assad Regards Trump's Immigration Order as Effort to Reduce Terrorist Threat

PARIS (Sputnik) — Assad emphasized that he intended to call on the United States and Western countries to stop supporting terrorism and to lift the embargo imposed on Damascus.

"It [Trump’s order] is aimed at terrorists that will infiltrate the West. And it has already happened. It happened in Europe, mostly in Germany … Trump’s goal is to prevent such people from entering," Assad told French radio station Europe1 in an interview published on Thursday.

Syrians are fleeing the country due to terrorism and Western sanctions, Assad explained.

"I am not happy to see them [Syrians] immigrate to other countries. And what will make me happy is that they will be able to return to Syria because they want to go back," he stressed.

In January, Trump signed an executive order banning Syrian refugees from entering the United States and implementing a three-month block on any entrants from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya. The decision was challenged by the state of Washington a few days later, which led to a district judge in Seattle issuing a temporary stay on the executive action.

Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war. The European Union has imposed a number of sanctions on certain Syrian individuals and entities, believing them to be responsible for the conflict.

The ongoing civil war has also created a dire displacement and migration crisis, forcing millions of Syrians to flee their homeland and become refugees in other countries, including EU member states.