Erdogan thinks he's Caliph, new sultan of the Ottoman. Bashar Assad gave interview to Russia Today
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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS: Syrian President Bashar Assad has severely criticized the policy which Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is following over Syria during the interview with Russia Today newspaper. “Erdogan thinks he's Caliph, new sultan of the Ottoman” Syrian President said.
As reports Armenpress, Assad accused Erdoğan for making attempts to spread his power over the whole region, as it used to be during the Ottoman Empire. Answering the question why Turkey which used to be the friend of Syria now became the foothold for the opposition, Asad said “Not Turkey, but only Erdogan’s government in order to be precise. Turkish people need good relations with the Syrian people. Erdogan thinks that if Muslim Brotherhood takes over in the region and especially in Syria, he can guarantee his political future, this is one reason. The other reason, he personally thinks that he is the new sultan of the Ottoman and he can control the region as it was during the Ottoman Empire under a new umbrella. In his heart he thinks he is a caliph. These are the main two reasons for him to shift his policy from zero problems to zero friends”.
Referring to the possible war between Syria and Turkey Bashar Assad noted “The war needs public support and the majority of the Turkish people do not need this war. So, I do not think any rational official would think of going against the will of the public in his country and the same for the Syrian people. So, the conflict or difference is not between the Turkish people and the Syrian people; it is about the government and officials, it is between our officials and their officials because of their politics. So, I do not see any war between Syria and Turkey on the horizon”.
When speaking about the enemies in Arabic world Syrian President highlighted that “there is no enemy in Arabic world”. According to him many countries support Syria by their hearts but they do not dare to say that explicitly. First of all, Iraq which played a very active role in supporting Syria during the crisis because it is a neighboring country and they understand and recognize that if you have a war inside Syria you will have war in the neighboring countries including Iraq.