Syrian president’s comments cast doubt on Russian plan to forge alliance

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said he was open to the idea of a coalition against Islamic State but indicated there was little chance of it happening with his enemies, casting further doubt on a Russian plan to forge an alliance against the militant group.

The initiative proposed by Russia, a vital ally of Mr Assad, involves the Syrian government joining regional states that have backed Syrian rebels in a shared fight against Islamic State, which controls large areas of Syria and Iraq.

In an interview broadcast on Tuesday, Mr Assad said the Syrian government would not reject such an alliance, although it made no sense “that states which stood with terrorism would be the states that will fight terrorism”.

Insurgent groups

He was referring to governments including Turkey and Saudi Arabia that have backed insurgent groups fighting to topple him in the four-year civil war that has killed an estimated 250,000 people and shattered the country.

“A small possibility remains that these states decided to repent, or realised they were moving in the wrong direction, or maybe for reasons of pure self-interest, they got worried that this terrorism is heading towards their countries, and so they decided to combat terrorism,” Mr Assad said in the interview with al-Manar TV, which is controlled by Hizbullah. “We have no objection. The important thing is to be able to form an alliance to fight terrorism.”

The comments echo previous remarks by Syria’s foreign minister, who said such an alliance would need “a miracle”.

Saudi Arabia has ruled out any coalition with Mr Assad. Like the US, Saudi Arabia wants to see Mr Assad gone from power, blames him for the rise of Islamic State, and says he cannot be a partner in the fight against the group.

The US is leading an alliance in a campaign against Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq. Russia said the US should co-operate with Mr Assad to fight the group. – Reuters