Your trusted source

Press TV has conducted an interview with Tahsin al-Halabi, political commentator, about a number of militant groups fighting government forces in Syria saying they do not recognize any foreign-based opposition group, including the so-called Syrian National Coalition.

- I’d like to get your thoughts on some of the stories we have been reporting on. First of all, reports of fierce fighting between foreign-backed insurgents and al-Qaeda affiliated militants, also a number of other groups of fighting forces in Syria say they do not recognize any foreign-based opposition group. Can you further elaborate on this chasm that exists between the militants and groups fighting the Syrian government?

- Actually it unveils the real policy of USA, the criminal policy of USA from the beginning of these events in Syria before two years and a half because US knew very well that all military support for the groups working on the Syrian territories whether they were in the name of the so-called Free Syrian Army or others, they would find their destination to al-Qaeda groups.

For this reason now al-Qaeda groups increased its control on certain territories in certain spots in the north of the Syrian borders and they are trying now to compete with others and to eliminate others, to isolate other groups.

This is the policy of USA, the criminal policy that support terrorism and support al-Qaeda, the most notorious faction of terror against all humanity and Arabs and Muslims in the area and nevertheless USA pretend to be a fighter or anti-terrorist factions, anti al-Qaeda in Yemen or anti al-Qaeda in Guantanamo.

I think if USA would find a need to send more from those al-Qaeda, they would not hesitate because they would consider those groups of al-Qaeda not enemy because they would consider them indirectly as an ally as long as they would work against the Syrian people and the Syrian leadership.

For this reason I think now Turkey recognized and realized the danger that it would have inside Turkish territories from those al-Qaeda when Mr. Gül the President of Turkey said that Turkey cannot allow for those to come from Syria to Turkey while he ignored or trying to forget that he brought those al-Qaeda groups from his boundaries in Turkey and from Jordan when they started to infiltrate to the Syrian territories.

- Mr. al-Halabi, Russia has stated that all chemical weapons in Syria must be destroyed highlighting that the hazardous materials possessed by insurgents must also be destroyed.

There are few issues I’d like you to address for us regarding that. First of all is how and from whom did the insurgents obtain those hazardous and chemical weapons and secondly is how do you think the United States and its allies in the region and its Western allies will respond to that Russian statement?

- Actually the opposition groups whether it is al-Qaeda or others, when they would have certain chemical weapons they have several alternatives to give them.

First of all they can smuggle them from the Turkish boundaries and just before weeks or before two months even Turkey admitted that it confiscated certain chemical materials with infiltrators trying to come from Turkey to Syria. This is one point.

Second point, they can go to certain places and make them. USA and the CIA would not hesitate to give them all knowing how to make such chemical weapons which they would be similar even in certain way to the Syrian chemical weapon in order to accuse Syria or in order to use them and then accuse Syria.

So I think this, also Russia is trying to trace and to find facts in order to prove for the United Nations and the international community that those rebels, insurgents they are the ones that they have interest to use such chemical weapons and not the Syrian Army which is very powerful to use all conventional force against such rebel groups.