Assad Quotes - Page 2

• I think those who have wanted regime [of Bashar Assad] change have made a mistake.

  Rand Paul

  Mistake, Thinking, Regimes

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• I think that by arming the allies of ISIS, the Islamic rebels against [Bashar] Assad, that we created a safe space or made that space bigger for ISIS to grow.

  Rand Paul

  Islamic, Thinking, Isis

  Source: cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com

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• If you can resolve this transition of [Bashar] Assad, that is absolutely possible, but you have to have a clarity for everybody about the way forward.

  John F. Kerry

  Way Forward, Transition, Clarity

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• If [Bashar] Assad himself could save this whole process by saying, "I will engage in a managed transition where we all work together to stabilize the government, save the institutions of government, and turn on ISIL and preserve Syria." That could happen. It all depends on one man, and Russia and Iran should not be so stubborn here that they tie this whole thing up simply because of one person.

  John F. Kerry

  Men, Iran, Ties

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• Three-quarters of [Bashar Assad] country is displaced. It's in Jordan, it's in Lebanon, it's in Turkey, and in the desert. The threat is that those people in the desert and others could become the next acolytes of ISIL if we don't find a way to join together to go after ISIL.

  John F. Kerry

  Country, Turkeys, People

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• I mean, all of these things that [Bashar Assad] has done, there's no way even if President Obama wanted to just play along that you could actually achieve peace, because there are 65 million Sunni in between Baghdad and the border of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, who will never, ever again accept Assad as a member - as a legitimate leader.

  John F. Kerry

  Mean, Iraq, Turkeys

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• There seems to be a passive alliance between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump and that's unprecedented in its form and dangerous in its content, because Russia is our most dangerous geopolitical opponent because of the desires that they have in the Middle East and because of their desire to break up Europe. And in the United States, we spent a lot of blood and a lot of treasure trying to keep Europe intact and democratic, and trying to keep the Middle East from being only influenced by people who are massive fans of [Syrian President] Assad and massive fans of the Iranians.

  Van Jones

  Russia, Blood, Europe

  Source: pen.org

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• The Russians appear to be - appear to be in conjunction with the Turks, as well as the Iranians, appear to be at a point where they are realizing for their interests as well, Assad being in power indefinitely is not in their interests.

  Joe Biden

  Realizing, Conjunctions, Interest

  Source: www.pbs.org

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• If Russia is there [in Syria] alone fighting them [ISIL], guess what? Russia becomes the target and Russia starts seeing - who knows - MANPADs will find their way in there, airplanes will fall out of the sky. They will become vilified. They'll become the new magnet, together with Assad, for the jihadis.

  John F. Kerry

  Fall, Airplane, Fighting

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• [Bashar] Assad himself has said on several occasions recently that if the people of Syria don't believe I should be there in the future, then I would step - I would leave. He has said it. He has, on occasion, hinted that he wants a political settlement of one kind or another. I think it's up to his supporters, his strongest supporters, to make it clear to him that if you're going to save Syria, Assad has made a set of choices - barrel bombing children, gassing his people, torturing his people, engaging in starvation as a tactic of war.

  John F. Kerry

  Children, War, Believe

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• I believe that Assad must go. I believe he will go. But I believe - we want to make sure that America has the relationships of friendship with the people that take his place, steps that in the years to come we see Syria as a friend, and Syria as a responsible party in the Middle East.

  Mitt Romney

  Party, Believe, Years

  Source: genius.com

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• People talk about [Bashar] Assad running Syria. He doesn't control his own country. He's down to about 20, 25 percent of the country. What is this fiction that he is somehow the only person who can save Syria? There's - with Assad there, there is no Syria. So that's what the Iranians and the Russians need to really begin to focus in on.

  John F. Kerry

  Running, Country, People

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• Bashar Assad clearly doesn't want to hear anything that impugns his government.

  Michael Isikoff

  Government, Want

  Source: www.npr.org

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• Seeing Syria remove Assad is a very high priority for America.

  Mitt Romney

  America, Priorities, Syria

  Source: genius.com

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• I don't regret at all saying that if I saw Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons on his people that that would change my assessments in terms of what we were or were not willing to do in Syria.

  Barack Obama

  Regret, Assessment, People

  Source: www.cbsnews.com

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• I think we are making an assumption that that is the outcome of the negotiations. I think President Assad will be prepared to accept whatever the outcome of the intra-Syrian dialogue and the decision of the Syrian people is. But people are trying to decide and determine the outcome of the negotiation before even we agree to start the negotiations.

  Mohammad Javad Zarif

  Thinking, People, Decision

  "Iran's Javad Zarif on Syria, Russia, and Donald Trump". Interview with Robin Wright, www.newyorker.com. December 18, 2015.

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• This comes from a group of people who`ve been wrong about every foreign policy issue over the last two decades. They supported Hillary Clinton`s war in Libya. They supported President [Barack] Obama`s bombing of Assad.

  Barack Obama

  War, Two, Issues

  Source: www.nbcnews.com

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• Russia went into Syria basically to support President Bashar al-Assad. And the Western allies have said Russia's really done very little against ISIS. For his part, Putin said Russia's open to stronger cooperation, and he supports Frances's effort to build a strong anti-terror coalition.

  Corey Flintoff

  Strong, Russia, Isis

  "Between France And Russia, Presidents Seek Common Ground In Syria". "All Things Considered" with Ari Shapiro, www.npr.org. November 26, 2015.

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• Part of the problem that we have currently in the Middle East is that[Bashar] Assad has hung on to power with the very strong support of Russia and Iran and with the proxy of Hezbollah being there basically fighting his battles.

  Hillary Clinton

  Strong, Fighting, Russia

  Source: time.com

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• I don't think that the United States has the bulk of the responsibility. I really put that on Bashar Assad and on the Iraqis and on the region itself.

  Hillary Clinton

  Responsibility, Thinking, United States

  "Second Democratic Debate" by Ryan Teague Beckwith, time.com. November 15, 2015.

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• I invite President Assad to come to Jerusalem and to speak with me, with our parliament, with whomever he wants to speak in Israel and in the territories among the Palestinians.

  Yitzhak Rabin

  Israel, President, Jerusalem

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• [Vladimir] Putin wants to keep [Bashar] Assad in power and expand his own military base in Syria, whatever the cost. I even believe he has an interest in more and more people fleeing the country. The flow of refugees improves his negotiating position toward the West, including the German chancellor.

  Garry Kasparov

  Country, Military, Believe

  "Putin Needs Wars To Legitimize His Position". Interview with Erich Follath, www.spiegel.de. November 10, 2015.

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• We could have made peace with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad a long time ago. It didn't happen, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't want to give up the Golan (Heights).

  Tom Segev

  Giving Up, Long, Want

  Source: www.spiegel.de

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• [Bashar] Assad has made a series of choices ever since then that is literally destroying his country.

  John F. Kerry

  Country, Choices, Made

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• Sunni are the majority of the [Syria], 60 to 65 percent. They've been ruled by [Bashar] Assad, who represents a minority Alawite element, which is about 12, 13 percent. And because of the choices Assad made, it's very difficult to see how you resolve this without buy-in from the Sunni world.

  John F. Kerry

  Choices, Majority, Minorities

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