Assad: Terrorists Receive Arms, Funds Via Turkey

Syrian President Bashar Assad said that funds and arms for terrorists come mainly via Turkey with support of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Funds and arms for terrorists come mainly via Turkey with support of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Syrian President Bashar Assad said.

"If you really want to fight them [terrorists] and defeat them, you must prevent the supplies of arms, finances and recruits, which mainly goes through Turkey with support of Saudi Arabia and Qatar," Assad told the Czech Television.

"This is the first step, which is necessary to take, when starting to fight terrorism. Otherwise you fight them, while they have unlimited supplies [of arms] from different countries, primarily of other region with support or the blind eye of the West. More precisely some of its states," Assad added.

He also added that only the Russian participation in the counterterrorism fight in Syria made Daesh and the al-Nusra Front pull back.

“Indubitably, it was the participation of the Russians, the creation of the counterterrorism front by them, became the key factor [in reversal of the situation in Syria,” Assad told the Czech Television answering a question on what had the greatest influence in the counterterrorism fight.