The Syrian government claims its forces have "regained the momentum"
The
Syrian army has scored "major victories" against rebels and now holds
"the balance of power" in the conflict, President Bashar al-Assad has
reportedly told a Lebanese TV station.
Mr Assad is also quoted as saying Syria has received the first shipment of an advanced Russian air defense system.
Russia vowed to go ahead with sending S300 missiles earlier this week.
The interview with Hezbollah-linked Al Manar TV is set to be broadcast later on Thursday.
In excerpts from the interview published by Lebanon's
pro-Syrian Al Akhbar newspaper, Mr Assad is quoted as saying: "The
Syrian army has scored major victories against armed rebels on the
ground and the balance of power is now with the Syrian army."
His Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, made similar comments on
Wednesday, telling Lebanese media: "Our armed forces have regained the
momentum.''
Mr Assad also admits in the interview with Hezbollah-linked
Al Manar TV that Syria and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement are
co-operating, or "on the same axis".
"Hezbollah fighters are deployed along the Lebanese-Syrian
borders but the operations are conducted by the Syrian army until the
"terrorist" groups are crushed", he is quoted as saying.
Mr Assad condemns backing for the rebels from Turkey, Qatar
and Saudi Arabia, claiming there are now 100,000 foreign fighters on
Syrian soil.
"Invading"
Earlier, a rebel leader accused Hezbollah of "invading" Syria.
Gen Selim Idriss, the military chief of the main umbrella
group of Syrian rebels, the Free Syrian Army, claimed that more than
7,000 fighters of the Lebanese Shia movement were taking part in attacks
on the rebel-held town of Qusair.
Gen Idriss made an emotional appeal to Western powers on the
BBC World Service's Newshour programme, saying: "We are dying. Please
come and help us."
He appealed for more weapons "to defend our citizens".
Gen Salim Idriss makes an appeal on the BBC's World
Service: "We are dying, we are suffering, many, many people are now
waiting to be killed"
Gen Idriss said the FSA was fielding fewer than 1,500 fighters in the fight for Qusair, armed only with light weapons.
More than 50,000 residents were trapped in the town and a "massacre" would occur if it fell, he added.
The US State Department has demanded that Hezbollah withdraw its fighters from Syria immediately.
Regime forces, backed by Hezbollah fighters, are reported to
have retaken from rebels a disused military airfield north of Qusair,
the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Beirut.
Opposition groups and humanitarian organisations say
conditions for the civilians and the wounded in Qusair are dire, with
doctors saying oxygen and other medical supplies have run out.
The opposition has appealed to the Red Cross and the Red
Crescent to intervene to help 1,000 injured people at risk of dying for
lack of medical attention.
Syrian government officials say that a corridor had been
established to allow civilians to escape and fighters who put down their
arms are free to leave too.
Who are Hezbollah?
- Lebanese Shia Muslim group
- Name means the Party of God
- Defined by hostility to Israel since 1980s
- Fought Israel in a bitter and deadly war in 2006
- Made up of political and military wings
- Strongest member of Lebanon's pro-Syria bloc
- Consistently backs Assad rule in Syria
- Fighters known to be active inside Syria
- Branded a terrorist group by Washington
"Syria has received the first
shipment of Russian anti-aircraft S-300 rockets," Mr Assad is reported
as saying in the TV interview.
"The rest of the shipment will arrive soon."
The S-300 is a highly capable surface-to-air missile system
that, as well as targeting aircraft, also has the capacity to engage
ballistic missiles.
The delivery of such missiles raises fears of further tension
with Israel as Mr Assad is also reported to have threatened to respond
directly if Israel launches any further air attacks on Syria.
However, the Israeli Defence Minister, Moshe Yaalon, said on
Tuesday he had information suggesting the missiles had not yet been
delivered.
"The shipments have not left yet. Let's hope they won't, and if they do, we'll know how to act," he said.
Israeli Energy Minister, Sylvan Shalom, told public radio
that Israel did not want to "escalate" the situation with Syria but
would not allow the transfer of strategic weapons to Hezbollah.
'Absolutely unacceptable'
It is also feared that growing disagreement on the missile
issue could endanger US-Russian efforts to convene a peace conference on
Syria in Geneva in June.
The Syrian leader is quoted as telling Al Manar that Syria would take part in principle but doubts it will yield results.
Casting a further shadow over the proposed conference, the
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, accused the Syrian opposition
on Thursday of making unrealistic demands.
"We are under the impression that the National Coalition and
its regional sponsors are doing everything so as not to allow the start
of the political process and achieve military intervention in Syria
through any means possible," he told reporters.
Mr Lavrov said National Coalition demands for Mr Assad to step down were "impossible to fulfil".
He called on the US and Europe to "rein in those who condone
these absolutely unacceptable aggressive approaches of the National
Coalition".
RUSSIAN S-300PMU SYSTEM
- Type: Surface to air missile system, capable of hitting aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles
- Special feature: Fires two missiles at a time, vertically, making it versatile and accurate
- Origin: S-300P dates from the 1960s but current state-of-the art export versions are S-300PMU-1 and 2 which were developed in the late 1990s
- Manufacturer: Almaz-Antey
- Cost: $900m for full system although it is not clear whether this is what Russia is supplying to Syria
- Specification: Each launcher vehicle [left] carries four missile containers (two missiles per target). A full battalion is six launcher vehicles with a total of 24 missiles plus command and control and long range radar detection vehicles
- Capability: Russian 48N6 are the standard missiles fired from S-300PMU launchers. They have a range of 5-150km at an altitude of up to 30km
- Response time: Vehicle stopping to missile firing is 5 minutes
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