Summary President Assad has accused West of backing al-Qaeda in Syria saying it will pay the price.
DAMASCUS (Agencies) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused Western nations of funding Al-Qaeda and warned they will pay dearly for their actions, according to excerpts of an interview to be broadcast later Wednesday.
"The West has paid heavily for funding Al-Qaeda in its early stages," Assad told Syria s pro-regime Al-Ikhbariya television, according to his office.
"Today it is doing the same in Syria, Libya and other places, and will pay a heavy price in the heart of Europe and the United States."
Syrian President Bashar Assad has accused the West of backing al-Qaida in Syria and says it will pay the price.
Assad spoke in an interview to be aired later Wednesday on the government-run Al-Ikhbariya channel.
Excerpts of the interview have been aired in advance and posted on his office s official Facebook page.
Assad says the West financed al-Qaida in Afghanistan in its beginnings and later paid a high price for it.
Similarly, he says it is now supporting the terror network in Syria and "will pay the price later in the heart of Europe and the United States."
Extremist groups such as the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra are gaining ground in Syria s civil war.
Assad s regime says the uprising against him is a conspiracy carried out by foreign-backed extremists.
