Assad: If Russia fails, the region will be destroyed

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that there is a possibility of the destruction of the Middle East in case of Russia's failure in the fight against terrorist groups in Syria, reports the news agency Patria.

In an interview with Iranian television Habar, Assad said that the coalition of Russia, the Syrian regime, Iran and Iraq against terrorism "must succeed, otherwise the entire region will be destroyed, not just one or two countries".

- We will certainly have to pay a high price, said the Syrian president, who expressed confidence in the effectiveness of this coalition.

Assad called on Western countries to join Russia.

- If these countries joined the fight against terrorism in a serious and sincere way, or at least stopped supporting terrorist groups, the results would be faster, assessed the Syrian president.

Russia has been carrying out air strikes on Islamic State positions since September 30, and Western countries, which want Assad to leave, believe that Russia is supporting the Syrian president to stay in power.