Assad on Possibility of Talks With Trump: Dialogue With US is Waste of Time Now

15:10 GMT, 22 June 2018

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has commented on the possibility of talks with the United States at the present moment in his interview to NTV channel, saying that Washington's policy was unlikely to change in the nearest future and thus, establishing a dialogue would be a waste of time.

Sputnik

"We do not believe that US policy will change in the near future. It [negotiations with Washington] is a waste of time," the Syrian president said in an interview with the Russian NTV channel.

Assad explained that US presidents are hostages to lobbyists' interests.

"They [US leaders] can tell you what you want to hear, but they will do the opposite. This is the whole point. And it's getting worse and worse. Trump is a very clear example of this. So talking with Americans now, discussing something with them — for nothing, without any results — is just a waste of time," Assad stated.

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In one of his latest interviews, the Syrian president has described the US, French, Turkish and Israeli troops present in his country as "occupying forces," and vowed to fully support "any act of resistance, whether against terrorists or against occupying forces regardless of their nationality."

Assad has repeatedly blamed Western countries for attempts to oust his government. His claims are connected to a prior narrative adopted by EU and US leaders, which had alleged that he had committed crimes against the Syrian people and called for his resignation. However, more recently, they have changed their stance, now that the country has been almost completely liberated from the terrorists.