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Syrian Official Claims Regime 'Extremely Comfortable'

While on a personal visit to Beirut, an official from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime said that the regime is “extremely comfortable” with the current political and military situation in Syria and abroad, writes Jean Aziz.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad heads a cabinet meeting in Damascus, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on February 12, 2013. REUTERS/SANA/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR 
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR3DOUK
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad heads a cabinet meeting in Damascus, in this photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency, SANA, on Feb. 12, 2013. — REUTERS/SANA/Handout

A senior Syrian official describes the current state of the Syrian regime by saying, “We are extremely comfortable, exceptionally so, in fact,” regarding both the political and military situation at home and abroad. His reading is optimistic and these are some of the details.

During a brief personal visit to Beirut, an official from the Syrian regime spoke at a closed-door meeting in which he said that the regime in Syria is very comfortable these days, and pleased with diplomatic and military developments at the local, regional and international levels.

His presentation began with the diplomatic scene. As is the custom of regime officials, he began with reiterating Damascus’s complete satisfaction and absolute trust in the international support it receives from its allies, saying: “Moscow stands firmly in our corner. It is a position all Russian officials have expressed both publicly and in our multiple meetings with them.”

He was eager to list the names at the top of the pyramid: “Putin, Medvedev, Lavrov, Gatilov, Bogdanov. All of them have stated their support for our side. It may sometimes just be a media tactic directed towards the West, or towards some Syrian opposition forces. But it is an effective tactic, evidenced by the fact that some in the West have seriously modified their tone towards us. It has also succeeded in making some of the opponents accept the principle of negotiating with the authorities, and this is a good thing that we definitely want.”

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