Syrian opposition leader hopeful for peace despite Israel's 'historic mistake' in buffer zone
While optimistic regarding relations with Israel going forward, Syrian National Salvation Front leader Fahad al-Masri called Israel's operations in Syria a mistake – watch the exclusive interview
The leader of the Syrian National Salvation Front, Fahad al-Masri, spoke to i24NEWS on Sunday about the optimism for diplomatic relations between his country and Israel.
"We want to see an Israeli embassy in the place of the Iranian embassy in Damascus," the leader of one of one of the main opposition groups abroad said. "We want to see the Israeli flag raised where the Iranian embassy is currently located."
Despite this, he said that "Israel made a historic mistake" in its decision to seize the Golan buffer zone and to strike the remnants of the Syrian army, but he still wants to see "a just and brave peace with Israel."
Israeli strikes "could blow up all the efforts that have been made in the past 10 years to bring the new Syria and Israel closer together."
Another mistake Israel made was reaching out to select groups in Syria instead of all Syrians, whether Sunni, Kurdish, or Druze.
The fall of the Assad regime is a "historic moment" for Syrians, al-Masri said. "For decades, the Syrian people have lived under a republic of horror, fear, and isolation from the rest of the world. Today, the Syrian people are free from this murderous and criminal regime."
Regarding why Iran and Russia did not come to the aid of former president Bashar al-Assad, al-Masri said that he believed "the Russians and the Iranians know very well that Assad is a thing of the past, and attempts to revive him and provide him with additional time is a waste of time and effort, and negative for the Iranians and Russians."