Syria's Assad halts parliament speech over low blood pressure: state TV
President Bashar al-Assad said he needed to sit down before suddenly exiting the room full of lawmakers.
Low blood pressure forced Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to briefly stop his speech to parliament, state television said today.
The 54-year-old leader was speaking to the assembly for the first time since last month’s parliamentary elections. He stopped for multiple sips of water, telling the audience, “My blood pressure has dropped and I need to drink water.”
"I need to sit for a minute if you don't mind,” he told the room full of masked, distanced lawmakers, according to The Associated Press.
Assad suddenly got down from the podium and left the room for “a few minutes,” according to the office of the Syrian presidency, which said he suffered a slight drop in his blood pressure.
