Assad: Syria is "problem" of the West in region

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reasserted Wednesday evening that his country is subject to foreign conspiracy, saying that foreign pressures are building up on Syria because it is the "problem" of the West in the region. During an Iftar banquet held in honor of clergymen late Wednesday, al-Assad said international pressures on Syria are mounting "not because the West is keen about the Syrian people or reforms, as they claim, but because Syria is the West's problem in the region and they want Syria to submit concessions." "This would never happen because the Syrian people have chosen to have its independent will and sovereignty." He said that bypassing these events needs the cooperation of all people and a lot of "reason and wisdom instead of emotions and passions," stressing that the role of clergymen was still essential in preserving the homeland and raising awareness among citizens. Al-Assad said the cause of a significant part of the crisis was "ethical" either from the "official or the citizen," adding that the solution could be by devoting the ethics. He also said that religion should not be exploited for targets that have nothing to do with it, urging all Syrians to shoulder their responsibilities in closing ranks and participating in the process of reform. He said a difference of opinion is "healthy so long as the target is building up the homeland." Al-Assad reasserted that Syria is moving on steadily with the process of reforms, which he said "did not contradict with efforts carried out by the state to restore security and stability to citizens," but noted that reform should be carefully studied. U.S. President Barak Obama called explicitly last week for the first time al-Assad to step aside, underscoring the tough talk with new sanctions and lobbied other nations to follow suit, a move which was brushed off by Syria as a flagrant intervention in Syria's internal affairs. The Syrian leadership blamed the five-month-old unrest on armed groups and extremists backed by a foreign conspiracy that aim at toppling al-Assad's leadership and replace it with an Islamic emirate instead.