It was only a matter of time before Syria's Assad, emboldened by Obama's recent backtracking and confident he has all the leverage and momentum, started laying down his own conditions. And here they are, as per RIA [7]and Interfax [8]citing an interview with Assad to air in its entirety later today on Rossia 24 TV [9]:
- ASSAD CALLS FOR ISRAEL TO DISPOSE OF WMD (!)
- ASSAD: 'REBELS MAY USE CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST ISRAEL AS PROVOCATION'
- ASSAD SAYS CHEMCIAL ARMS DEAL DEPENDS ON US STOPPING AID TO TERRORISTS
- ASSAD SAYS WILL COMPLETE DEAL ONLY IF US STOPS "POLICY OF THREATS"
- ASSAD ACCUSES TURKEY, SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR OF SUPPORTING TERRORISTS IN SYRIA
- ASSAD EXPECTS TO START HANDING OVER INFO ON CHEMICAL WEAPONS ONE MONTH AFTER JOINING OPCW
- ASSAD: 'ANY WAR AGAINST SYRIA WILL BECOME A WAR THAT WILL DESTROY THE WHOLE REGION'
- ASSAD: 'NO COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, PRIMARILY ISRAEL, SHOULD HAVE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION'
- SYRIA TO SEND DOCUMENTS TO UN, CHEMICAL WEAPONS GROUP SOON
- ASSAD SAYS IMPLEMENTATION OF DEAL MAY TAKE A MONTH OR MORE
If at all. And now, his bluff called, we go back to Barack Obama penning his Pravda Op-Ed.