Assad to Rossiya-24: "Syria sits on two "tectonic plates" & any attempt to destabilize it will lead to a massive earthquake that damages the entire region"

"... On whether there are sides assisting Syria's enemies and the amount and sources of weapons at the disposal of these enemies, President al-Assad pointed out that during the first few months and particularly the first month of the crisis, it was difficult to find out the reality of what was happening and where the money or weapons was coming from, or even if there were actually money and weapons.

"After more than seven months since the crisis in Syria began, we gathered clean but incomplete information, but through recent investigations with terrorist it became irrefutably clear that weapons were being smuggled across the Syrian borders from neighboring countries and funds are being sent from people abroad… We have information about people leading these operations outside Syria and in several countries.

"We don't have precise information about these people's relations to countries, but it's perfectly clear from the quality and scale of weapons and the amounts of money that the funding isn't personal funding; rather there are countries behind this funding," President al-Assad said, adding that specifying the countries responsible for this funding requires clearer information, at which point Syria's won't hesitate to uncover the facts.

Regarding the source of weapons and ammunition, particularly Israeli explosives, President al-Assad said that there are weapons from various countries including weapons of Israeli manufacture, but it's impossible to pinpoint if their source is Israel or another country that possesses such weapons.

"There are bombs and mines placed in areas with civilians and may target civilians sometimes and they may target security forces or the police or the army… there are also-anti-tank weapons which is new and serious… so all things point to the fact that there are countries responsible for armament and not individuals who may actually be fronts for these countries.

"Where do the weapons come from… from neighboring countries… despite that fact we cannot accuse them of being involved in the smuggling as it's difficult to control borders with surrounding countries ..."