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Sky News has spoken exclusively to Syria’s First Lady, Asma al Assad, and has heard that she is ready to host President Obama and his wife Michelle in Damascus.
The First Lady’s comments are the latest in a series of signs that US-Syrian relations are improving after years of tension. Speaking to Sky News’ Middle East Correspondent, Dominic Waghorn, she said of any future visit of the Obamas to Syria: “I can see myself hosting them in Damascus. In the old town, meeting with people, getting a sense of how we live, who we are and what Syria’s about.” The British-born First Lady also talked about the sense of optimism she believes exists in her country, and said that in part, it is due to the new American administration.
Highlights from the interview can be seen on skynews.com and throughout the day on Sky News.
Transcript:
Dominic Waghorn: “Describe the mood here at the moment. Particularly with a new young President in America, reaching out he says, extending to the Muslim world, the possibility of a new American Ambassador coming here – the first in four years. What is the mood here do you think?”
Asma al Assad: “People are enjoying the summer, they are trying to get on with life, there is a sense of optimism. The sense of optimism comes primarily from, well from a lot of factors to be honest. It comes from the fact that progress is being made in Syria, it comes from the fact that regionally things are looking better – in some parts. And it also comes from the fact, as you said, that there is a new American administration and they’re looking to positively engage with the rest of the world.
“The fact that President Obama is young, well President Assad is also very young as well, so maybe it is time for these young new leaders to make a difference in the world.“
DW: “Can you see yourself hosting Michelle Obama and her husband at one of the Palaces here in the near future?“
AaA: “I can see myself hosting them in Damascus. In the old town, meeting with people, getting a sense of how we live, who we are and what Syria’s about.”
DW: “At the beginning of your marriage you kept it quiet in a sense, you travelled for three months anonymously around the country, and you talked to Syrians wearing jeans…if you were to do the same, how changed would you find Syria do you think, and has it changed enough?”
AAA: “Very changed. Very, very changed. We are a very ambitious nation. That’s not to say that all the changes that have come along have of course been beneficial. We understand that there’s still a long way to go and as the world develops and the world changes, we need to keep a pace with that. So it’s an ongoing process. It’s not something that you can sit back and say well ‘well done, you’ve done your bit’ and you can go home and retire.”
DW: “Is it going quickly enough do you think?”
AAA: “It depends what you mean by quickly?“
DW: “Is it going as quickly as you’d hoped, say five years ago?”
AAA: “The fact that you can’t necessarily control the speed of the change means that you have to try and move along with it as quickly as possible. You may be able to control the local dynamics, you may be able to push the local dynamics as much as you can, or as much as you want to, but there are regional and international dynamics that come into play as well, and that is not necessarily something you can control.“
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