Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, said Syria is convinced "the U.S. cannot control the rebel groups it is arming and will be unable to get them to declare a ceasefire that would be central to any successful peace talks."
In an interview with "The Independent", Mekdad noted that the Americans "provide arms and money but they have absolutely no control. Nobody will listen. The US has been trying to unify this opposition for two years and you can see the results: more disintegration."
Mekdad says events have been moving in the Syrian government's favour throughout the first half of the year. Its forces are on the offensive, having won a crucial battle at Qusayr outside Homs near the Lebanese border, and he stresses that the opposition should take heed.
"It will send a clear message to armed groups, saying: 'The Syrian army is coming for you,'" he said.
Not looking overly concerned by the postponement of the Geneva II peace conference, Mekdad stressed that Syria had always been ready and willing to attend without preconditions. But he refuted the idea that, if the US and its allies could make the rebels a bit stronger on the battlefield, "they can force the government to give more concessions. This is completely wrong," he said.
In this regard, Mekdad described the British PM David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Huage as "stupids".
"I think they are stupid," says Mr Mekdad. "I think they are absolutely mistaken. More arms means more killing." He derides any idea that the British and French stance is humanitarian or sincere, attributing it in both cases to revived colonialist ambitions.
Moreover, Mekdad said he believes that Saudi Arabia and Qatar likewise act as proxies for the US: "They can't do anything without written instructions from Washington."
Mekdad played down the role of Hezbollah in the Syrian fighting, saying that thousands of Islamic fundamentalists have joined the rebels without provoking such an international outcry. He also denied that Iran has a single soldier or member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, but adds that the Iranians are generous with economic and financial assistance.
"They are sending food, oil and financial support," he said.
As for chemical weapons, he denied that Syria - "supposing [we] had them" - would ever deploy them against its own people and called for the UN to investigate a Syrian government claim of poison-gas use by the rebels."
But he also claimed that UN inspectors would not be allowed to investigate similar charges against Syrian government forces because "we don't want to repeat the Iraqi experience".
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