The United Nations considered it a rejection of the Geneva Agreement.
Former Syrian Vice President Abdulhalim Khaddam stated in a statement to “Okaz” yesterday that Bashar al-Assad’s speech was written in an Iranian-Russian format, confirming that his speech lacks political content and carries more escalation. Khaddam said that Bashar is incapable of writing political speeches in the first place and that the Iranians and Russians have requested an escalation of military operations recently, and this political speech is part of that escalation. He explained that Assad is taking advantage of the international community’s tolerance for the crimes he commits against the Syrian people, so he is working to create a state of tension and fear in the region in order to suppress the revolution. He does not believe that the Syrian people will back down from their demands for freedom and the transition to a modern state.
The United States spokesperson for the Department of State, Victoria Nuland, issued a statement saying, “Bashar al-Assad’s speech is a new attempt by the regime to cling to power and does not offer anything to achieve the Syrian people’s goal of a political transition.” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also saw Assad’s speech as not contributing to finding a solution to end the terrible suffering of the Syrian people, expressing disappointment that the speech rejects the most important element of the Geneva declaration, which is a political transition and the formation of a transitional government with full executive powers representing all Syrians.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius described the speech as pathetic, considering that Assad is not only a killer of his own people but also deaf and blind. The European Union expressed regret over the Syrian regime’s unwillingness to pursue a political solution. The spokesperson for the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, issued a statement commenting on Assad’s speech, saying that Ashton “regrets that the Syrian regime is not prepared to commit to a credible political solution to the Syrian crisis.”
