Turkish army fighting in Syria: President Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says an army led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fighting in Syria alongside Takfiri terrorists.

"Today, the war against Erdogan and against Saudi Arabia is a war against terrorists. The Turkish army, which is not even Turkish, is Erdogan's army that is fighting today in Syria," Assad told Russia's RIA news agency.

He said the Turkish president allows the terrorists "to move into Turkish territory, to carry out maneuvers with tanks."

The Syrian president added that Erdogan trades oil stolen by Daesh, adding that the Turkish troops "carry out artillery attacks against the Syrian army - when it moves close - in order to help the terrorists."

Assad also pledged to thwart Erdogan’s plans in Syria and to respond to the Turkish aggression through defeating terrorists fighting in his country.

"They are terrorists and when we attack these terrorists in Syria, this leads to Erdogan's direct defeat," he said.

However, he stressed that the "Turkish people are not against Syria, are not hostile towards Syria."

The Syrian leader also said that the relations between the two countries will be "good" if the Turkish president "does not interfere" in Syria’s affairs.

He further said that Saudi Arabia and Turkey have "crossed all possible red lines" from the very beginning of the Syrian war.

Assad also described the Saudi and Turkish support to terrorists and providing them with weapons as "aggression."

"This concerns not only individuals, he finances them [terrorists] through Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and through Turkey itself, of course," Assad said.

SS