While offering to assist any international effort to fight Islamic State militants, Syria’s foreign minister warned the U.S. Monday not to conduct airstrikes against the group inside Syria without Damascus’ consent, saying any such attack would be considered an aggression.
Walid al-Moallem’s words appeared timed to try to pre-empt any U.S. military action in Syria.
President Barack Obama has resisted ordering U.S. military action in Syria for three years, even after a deadly chemical weapons attack a year ago near Damascus he blamed on President Bashar Assad’s government.
But now, Obama faces pressure from his own military leaders to go after the Islamic State group inside Syria.
Obama remains wary, however, of getting dragged into the bloody and complex Syrian civil war that the United Nations says has killed more than 190,000 people.
Al-Moallem’s remarks at a news conference in Damascus also marked the first public comments by a senior Assad official on the threat posed by the Islamic State group, which has captured large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory.
The foreign minister said the Syrian government repeatedly has warned of the threat of terrorism and the need to cut off resources and funding but “no one listened to us.” Syria’s government has long described the rebels fighting to topple Assad as “terrorists” in a foreign conspiracy.
There is not much Syria can do, however, if the U.S. does decide to strike. U.S. officials revealed last week that U.S. forces had tried to rescue U.S. journalist James Foley in a failed operation in Raqqa in July.”
Had there been prior coordination that operation would not have failed,” al-Moallem said.The minister also denounced “in the strongest terms possible” Foley’s killing last week by Islamic State militants, while asking:
“Has the West ever condemned the massacres by the Islamic State and Nusra against our armed forces or citizens?” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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