Assad Blames West For 250,000 Civil War Casualties, Accuses Turkey Of Supporting Terrorism

Turkey shot down a Russian military jet because it wanted to prevent the success of the military operation against terrorists in Syria, said Syrian President Bashar Assad.

According to Assad, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s real intention is to “change the balance of power on the ground. The Syrian president, however, believes shooting down the Russian jet won’t change the balance.

Assad indicated that the secret behind Erdoğan remaining in power is terrorism. "The failure of his terrorist groups means the end of his political career, and he wanted to do anything to hinder the success (of the military operation in Syria)," Russian News Agency Tass quoted Assad as talking to Czech Television.

Assad said, contrary to what Erdoğan planned to do, the Russian support against terrorism would be stronger. He added that terrorists were getting funded by Turkey with the help of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

"If you really want to fight and defeat them (terrorists), then it is necessary to cut off their supplies of ammunition, weapons, money, which they mostly get through Turkey with the support of Saudi Arabia and Qatar," Assad said.

The Syrian president added that there would be peace in his country if the West and its Middle Eastern allies stopped backing terrorists.

"When the counties that I mentioned - France, Great Britain, USA, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others stop supporting terrorists, the situation will improve the next day,” he said.

Assad blamed the support for terrorists from the West and its Middle Eastern allies for the bloodshed of 250,000 Syrian people. He said terrorists from more than 100 countries around the world were coming to Syria to make it “a hub for terrorism,” SANA reported.