De-escalation plan won’t fail in light of Tehran, Moscow support: Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says a deal to establish de-escalation zones in Syria with the aim of reducing violence in the war-torn Arab country will not fall short as Iran and Russia will not hesitate to respond appropriately to any form of its violation.

“Former initiatives failed not because they were wrong. They failed because Western states interfered in order to re-escalate militarily. That’s why we hope that this plan will give an opportunity to those countries to realize that any escalation will fail; because the Syrian and Russian forces, with support from Iran and [the Lebanese resistance movement of] Hezbollah, will strike any violation on the part of the terrorists,” Assad stated in an interview with Belarusian TV network ONT in Damascus on Thursday.
Russia, with backing from Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran, brokered the deal for establishing de-escalation zones in mainly militant-held areas of Syria during ceasefire talks in the Kazakh capital city of Astana last week.

The plan, which came into effect at midnight on May 5, calls for the cessation of hostilities between militant groups and Syrian government forces.

It covers the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, northeastern areas of the western coastal province of Latakia, western areas of Aleppo province and northern areas of Hama province.

It also applies to the Rastan and Talbiseh enclave in Homs province, Eastern Ghouta district in the northern Damascus countryside as well as the militant-controlled southern part of the country along the border with Jordan.

Assad also dismissed allegations that a demographic change is taking place inside Syria.