Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Turkey of operating as “American agent in this war.” During a state television interview from an undisclosed location, the ruler of Damascus insisted “The Syrian land is one and the theater of operations is one, from the far south to the far north.”
Assad said his forces “were fighting this agent Turkey everywhere, and whenever it struggled to do what it wanted – it left no option but war, this is obvious.” Underscoring that war between the two neighbors is inevitable in the absence of a diplomatic resolution, adding, “But I say we will need to keep open the opportunity for the political process in all its forms; and if it didn’t produce results then we consider them an enemy and it will get to war, there is no other option.”
Despite Assad’s comments combined with Ankara’s claims of a continued presence by Kurdish militants in its declared security zone along the border, Turkey’s Defense Ministry today released photographs of joint-Turkish/Russian patrols said to be in northern Syria.