Former Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam criticized the UN envoy Kofi Annan’s call for dialogue between the Syrian opposition and the Syrian regime while the Syrian army continues to shell civilian areas.
Khaddam said in a statement to the Turkish newspaper “Hurriyet” on Sunday, “The Syrian opposition and the Syrian people who remain under artillery bombardment without electricity and water cannot agree to Kofi Annan’s call for dialogue with the Assad regime.” He emphasized the need to punish all the officials of the Assad regime involved in the mass killing of the Syrian people.
He added that the maneuvers of the Assad regime cannot weaken or deceive the challenge of the Syrian people to their regime, and they will continue their challenge until the regime falls and the officials involved in the crimes are brought to justice.
Khaddam, who held the position of Deputy President of Syria until 2005, further stated, “The criminal Assad regime has lost its legitimacy,” noting that the number of military personnel fleeing from the Syrian army to Turkey is increasing day by day. The number of civilians fleeing from Syria to Turkey has reached nearly 11,000 citizens.
He considered that Iran and Russia have a common goal and strategy in Syria, which is to distance the West from the Middle East to control the region’s rich resources. Russia is trying to re-establish its control over the region through Syria after the Soviet Union era, while Iran seeks to extend its influence and control over a strategic region stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the borders of Afghanistan through Syria and Lebanon.
He believed that if the Syrian regime falls, Iran will lose its control over Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, and it will not be able to use the Palestinian card, forcing it to withdraw to its national borders.
