Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said in a March 22, 2019 interview on Mayadeen TV (Lebanon) that the Trump administration is acting against the basic interests of the American people and imposing coercive measures throughout the world. He also said that Syria and the Syrian Arab Army have the right to employee peaceful means and armed struggle in all its forms in order to liberate the Syrian Golan.
Following are excerpts:
Faisal Mekdad: The [Trump] administration is acting against the basic interests of the American people. The measures that this crazy American administration takes against all the countries in the world. … As I follow on a daily basis the coercive measures it imposes—not just on Syria but on all the countries in the world—I ask myself: When will the president of the U.S. administration impose sanctions on the United States, including on his own family?
Interviewer: According to the Syrian statement, [Syria] supports the retrieval of the Syrian Golan by all possible means.
Faisal Mekdad: Of course.
Interviewer: What are the limits of these “means”?
Faisal Mekdad: There are no limits. I’m saying this in all honesty. The Syrian leadership is discussing all these issues. We believe in achieving security and stability in the region, but this will not be at our expense.
[…]
We have the right to employ peaceful means, as well as armed struggle in all its forms, in order to liberate the Arab lands. The Syrian Arab Army is now trained and ready for any challenge, and this is what scares Israel, especially now, after the achievements of this great army, which have astonished the entire world.
