Syria's President Bashar Al Assad denied Moscow is running the show in his war-torn country, saying in an interview released on Sunday his government operates independently of its Russian and Iranian allies.
In a wide-ranging interview in Damascus with The Mail newspaper, Mr Assad slammed the United States and British military actions in Syria as "colonial" while praising Russia for its support of his regime.
"We've had good relations with Russia for more than six decades now, nearly seven decades. They never, during our relation, try to dictate, even if there are differences," he told the British newspaper.
Mr Al Assad admitted his government has disagreed with Russia and Iran throughout the country's seven-year conflict.
"That's very natural, but at the end the only decision about what's going on in Syria and what's going to happen, it's a Syrian decision," he said.
Moscow intervened militarily in Syria's conflict in 2015, when Mr Al Assad's forces were struggling to hold territory against rebel fighters.
Russian air strikes and military advisers have since helped regime troops to seize back more than half of the country.
Tehran, too, has sent military advisers to Syria, but the Syrian president has denied that Iranian troops are on the ground.
Iran's regional foe, Israel, has repeatedly warned it will not accept an entrenched Iranian presence in Syria.
Israel is suspected of carrying out numerous raids on Syrian government positions over the years, and last month announced unprecedented strikes on what it said were Tehran-operated bases in Syria.
Read more: Rare tensions between Assad's backers as Syria's war unwinds
In his interview, Mr Al Assad denied Moscow had ever had prior knowledge of such strikes, despite close co-operation between Israel and Russia.
"No, no, that's not true," he said.
"Russia never co-ordinated with anyone against Syria, either politically or militarily, and that's a contradiction," he said.
"How could they help the Syrian army advancing and at the same time work with our enemies in order to destroy our army?"
Syria's war has also drawn in many western powers who first backed rebel groups against Mr Al Assad, then shifted their focus to defeating ISIS as part of a US-led coalition.
Mr Al Assad lambasted the American and British interventions, saying they were "breaching the sovereignty of Syria".
"This is colonial policy, that's how we see it, and this is not new," he said.
He also told the Mail that his country had stopped sharing intelligence with European nations.
"They want to exchange information despite their governments being politically against ours, so we said … 'When you change your political position, we're ready'," he said.
"Now, there's no co-operation with any European intelligence agencies, including the British."
The interview, according to the Mail, was Mr Al Assad's first with a British journalist since 2015.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Semi-final fixtures
Portugal v Chile, 7pm, today
Germany v Mexico, 7pm, tomorrow
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MANDOOB
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
