Syria Strongly Condemns Statements of U.S. Secretary of State as Flagrant Interference in Syria's Internal Affairs

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - An official source on Tuesday stated that the Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns yesterday's statements by the U.S. Secretary of State as "additional evidence on the U.S. flagrant interference in the Syrian internal affairs."

The source pointed out that these statements are a provocative action as to prolong internal aggravation and for purposes that don't serve the interests of the Syrian people and their legitimate aspirations.

The source said that Syria reiterates that the legitimacy of its political leadership is not based on the USA or on any other country, and that this legitimacy is exclusively derived from the will of the Syrian people, which expresses their support for their political leadership and for the radical reforms put into study and dialogue everyday.

The source added that "No one disagrees that relations among countries are based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs; that is why the Syrian Arab Republic expects that the USA and its envoys will comply with this principle and refrain from any acts that could provoke the Syrian people's emotions and pride in their national independence".

Earlier, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that in the eyes of the Untied States, President al-Assad "has lost legitimacy" and that if anyone believes – including President al-Assad – that the United States secretly hopes for the leadership to emerge from this chaos then they are mistaken.

Clinton also said that President al-Assad is not indispensable and that the U.S. isn't counting on him staying in power.

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