No Cooperation with Countries Supporting Terrorism on ISIS: Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ruled out Syria’s joining the US-led coalition carrying airstrikes against what are said to be ISIL positions in Iraq and Syria, since members of the coalition are themselves sponsors of terrorism.
Responding to a question in a Tuesday interview with the state-funded BBC on whether Syria would participate in the US-led campaign, Assad said, “No, definitely we cannot and we don’t have the will and we don’t want, for one simple reason – because we cannot be in an alliance with countries which support terrorism.”
Assad said that he was not against cooperating with other countries in their battle against the Takfiri ISIL terrorists, but would refuse to talk with American officials “because they don’t talk to anyone unless he’s a puppet.”
Assad also slammed the US officials for “easily trampling” on international law and violating Syria’s sovereignty, in reference to the airstrikes that are being carried out by the US-led coalition inside Syria without authorization from Damascus.
“And they easily trample over international law, which is about our sovereignty now, so they don’t talk to us, we don’t talk to them,” he said.
The Syrian president also said that his government is receiving messages from the US-led coalition battling the ISIL.
There had been no direct cooperation since airstrikes began in Syria in September, but third parties – among them Iraq – were conveying “information,” he said.