Belgian official praises Assad as ‘ally,’ lauds Syria’s war on terror

A Belgian politician has hailed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as an “ally,” saying Syria’s battle against terrorism and extremism benefits the whole region and world.

“We realize that if Syria falls, Jordan and Lebanon and the Maghreb countries near Europe will fall, as terrorism will reach them too,” said Filip Dewinter, a member of Belgium’s Flemish Parliament, on Tuesday, adding, “Syria is correct in its position and it’s on the right track.”

The remarks were made during a meeting between a Belgian parliamentary delegation, headed by Dewinter, and Speaker of the Syrian People’s Assembly Mohammad Jihad al-Laham in the Syrian capital city of Damascus.

Dewinter denounced as “dictatorial” the economic sanctions against Damascus, saying the bans have had a detrimental influence on the lives of civilians in the violence-wracked country.

“Those sanctions are dictatorial acts and hard violence against the Syrian people because they have affected the human and health domains … We will convey the Syrian people’s suffering to the European officials and people, thus EU states would retreat from these sanctions,” he went on to say.

Dewinter also admitted that some 445 Belgian nationals have joined the ranks of Takfiri terrorists in Syria.

“I apologize because terrorists who are fighting in Syria came from all over the world, particularly European countries,” the Belgian lawmaker stated.

He also lashed out at the government in Ankara for supporting Takfiri terroirsts in the Middle East.

“We are fully aware that Turkey provides all possible faciliattion to western terrorists and militants, and any future talks with the Turkish government must be suspended until it changes its policies and stops its support for the terrorist organization ISIS (ISIL),” Dewinter added.

Laham, for his part, criticized Western media for obfuscating the truth with regard to the Syrian crisis, adding that West and some regional countries are behind the deadly conflict in the Arab country.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 210,000 people, according to reports.

Over 7.2 million Syrians have reportedly become internally displaced due to the ongoing crisis.