Assad accuses Turkish Erdogan of supporting extremist groups

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of supporting extremist groups in Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

Assad charged that Erdogan undertakes "destructive polices that don't serve the peoples" and supports the "takfiri, extremist powers to please his masters and to implement their schemes," the report said.

The remarks by Assad were made during his meeting with a number of visiting Turkish politicians from Turkish opposition parties.

Meanwhile, Assad said fighting terrorism could not only be done by fighting the terrorists, but by heaping pressure on the countries supporting them in order to make such countries change their policies to establish a real cooperation to rid the region of the rampant terrorism.

For its part, the Turkish delegation said the battle against terrorism waged by Syria is the main factor to protect the region from defragmentation, noting that "the majority of Turkish people still believe in the fraternal relations with Syria and reject Erdogan's involvement in supporting the terrorism in Syria."

It was not the first time that Assad and his government lashed out at the Turkish government under Erdogan's leadership and accused them of supporting the radical groups, whose members, at least the foreigners, are believed to have infiltrated Syria through Turkey. Endit