Syria blasted US President Donald Trump on Wednesday who said he considered “
eliminating
” Syrian head of state Bashar al-Assad, calling the United States a “
rogue and outlaw
” state, according to the official Sana news agency.
Read also: Donald Trump to Bashar al-Assad: peace or very heavy sanctions
Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he had considered “
eliminating
” Mr. Assad in 2017 but that then Pentagon chief Jim Mattis was against it.
"
The statements of the head of the American administration (...) clearly show the level (...) of reckless political practices
" of the United States, said Tuesday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by Sana.
"
Mr. Trump's confession confirms that the US administration is a rogue and outlaw state, which pursues the same methods as terrorist organizations with killings and liquidations,
" the ministry added.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said on the American channel Fox News that he would have "
preferred to eliminate
" Mr. Assad, assuring that he had "made
sure that it is planned
" after a chemical attack in April 2017 attributed to the Syrian power .
“
Mattis didn't want to do it.
Mattis was a vastly overrated general, and I parted ways with him,
”he added.
In September 2018, the American president said on the contrary that he had never discussed with the head of the Pentagon the possible assassination of President Assad.
The conflict in Syria was sparked by the crackdown on pro-democracy protests and has grown in complexity over the years, involving a multitude of foreign powers and armed groups.
It has left more than 380,000 dead and millions displaced.
Thanks to the military support of Moscow and Tehran, its unwavering allies, the Syrian power now controls more than two-thirds of the country, after having multiplied the victories against the rebels and the jihadists.
Donald Trump had bombed a Syrian military base in April 2017 in response to a sarin gas attack blamed on the regime, which killed more than 80 civilians in Khan Cheikhoun (north-west).