Syria's al-Assad: British leaders 'shallow, immature'

(CNN) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad slammed British leaders as “shallow and immature” and accused the British government of trying to arm rebels seeking his ouster.

Al-Assad told The Sunday Times the British government can’t play a useful role in stopping the Syrian crisis.

“We do not expect an arsonist to be a firefighter,” al-Assad told the newspaper.

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“To be frank, Britain has played famously in our region (an) unconstructive role in different issues, for decades, some say for centuries. I’m telling you the perception in our region,” he said.

“The problem with this government (is) that they are shallow and immature. Rhetorics only highlight this tradition of a bullying hegemony.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has hurled equally harsh words toward al-Assad.

After a January speech in which al-Assad promised reforms, Hague slammed the president as “beyond hypocritical.”

“Deaths, violence and oppression engulfing #Syria are his own making, empty promises of reform fool no one,” Hague tweeted.

In February, the European Union renewed its arms embargo on Syria for three months — but amended it to allow greater non-lethal support and technical assistance to help protect civilians.

The shift in the arms embargo set an important precedent, Hague said.

“This is an important and welcome step forward. It shows we can change the arms embargo, and the worse the situation becomes, the more ready we will be to change it,” he said in a statement.

This month marks the two-year anniversary of the Syrian civil war, a conflict that has killed at least 70,000 people, according to international estimates.

Earlier this year, al-Assad outlined a plan to resolve the Syrian crisis. His plan included national dialogue and a new constitution that would be put up for a public referendum.

But there’s a major caveat: Al-Assad said he refuses to deal with “terrorists,” a term the government often uses to describe the opposition.

Similarly, opposition members have said they will not work directly with al-Assad’s “criminal” government, nor will they accept any solution that doesn’t involve al-Assad’s departure.

So the deadly impasse continues.

Source:
http://www.news.ezonearticle.com/2013/03/03/syrias-al-assad-british-leaders-shallow-immature/