Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Damascus (Agenzia Fides) - According to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russian leader Vladimir Putin "is the only defender of Christian civilization we can trust".
This is what President Assad said in an interview, released by the Syrian leader to the French weekly Valeurs Actuelles. "When I look at the current state of affairs in the world", Assad said in response to French journalists, "I realize that Vladimir Putin is the only defender of Christian civilization we can rely on".
In the same interview, released after the massacres of Paris, Assad insists he will leave power only if the people and the Syrian parliament ask him, adding that the question of his possible withdrawal is not subject to negotiation at an international level. "If the French government is not serious in its fight against terrorism", said the Syrian President, "we will not waste our time working with a country, a government or institution that supports terrorists". According to Assad, the criterion to follow is to "be part of an alliance that unites Countries that only want to fight against terrorism, and not feed it". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 18/11/2015)
ASIA/LEBANON - Is there an attempt to destabilize a country shaken by the economic crisis and the conflict in the Middle East?
AFRICA/DR CONGO - At least 32 people die in a series of attacks