DAMASCUS, Syria, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Syria is entitled to defend itself by acquiring its own chemical and biological deterrents, President Bashar Assad told Britain's Telegraph Tuesday.
In his first major statement since Libya's decision last month to scrap its nuclear and chemical programs, Assad came closer than ever before to admitting his country has stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Assad said any deal to destroy Syria's chemical and biological capability would come about only if Israel agreed to abandon its undeclared nuclear arsenal.
Asked about U.S. and British claims Syria had a mass weapons capability, he stopped short of the categorical denial that had been his government's stock response.
Instead, he pointed to the Israelis' recent attack on alleged Palestinian bases in Syria and the occupation of the Golan Heights as evidence Syria needs a deterrent.
"It is natural for us to look for means to defend ourselves," he said. "It is not difficult to get most of these weapons anywhere in the world and they can be obtained at any time."
