DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the United States is using the dollar to commit robbery on a global scale.
In an interview with Russia Today, whose content was released by SANA, Assad said if the dollar continues to govern the world economy, “nothing will change.”
“Using the dollar is not blackmail, it is robbery,” Assad said when talking about how the U.S. uses the dollar to control the world and impose sanctions.
“As long as the dollar is a global currency and continues to be settled through U.S. banks or what is called the American Federal Reserve, you are under the authority of the dollar; and therefore your future as a state, a country, or society, as an economy is under the mercy of the United States,” Assad said.
Assad also talked about the oil fields occupied by the U.S.-backed Kurdish militants in northern and northeastern Syria and said Syria would eventually reclaim its resources.
Furthermore, Assad slammed Turkey for threatening to create a so-called safe zone in northern Syria and the U.S. presence in eastern Syria, vowing that his administration will not hesitate to protect Syria’s sovereignty.
“If Turkish forces launch an attack in areas where Syrian military troops are present, the latter will definitely fight back and put up defense,” Assad said.
He added, “Two and a half years ago, there was a direct confrontation between Syrian and Turkish forces, and Syrian soldiers managed to strike a number of Turkish units that had encroached into our territories.”
“If it is not possible for Syrian army forces to face up to Turkish incursions, popular resistance will swing into action in the first place,” Assad pointed out.
On Saturday, Syria vehemently condemned Turkey’s acts of aggression against the Arab country, saying Turkish forces’ incursions into its territory violate international law.
“The aggressive threats of the Turkish regime pose a blatant violation of the international law and the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria,” the official news agency SANA cited an unnamed source in Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates as saying in a statement.