De Syrische president Bashar Al-Assad heeft in een interview met Murad Gazdiev van RT op 31 mei 2018 verklaard dat een direct conflict tussen de Verenigde Staten en Rusland in april ternauwernood is voorkomen.

Nadat interviewer Gazdiev er eerst op gewezen heeft dat er 5 kernmachten betrokken zijn bij de oorlog in Syrië, stelt hij de vraag [vanaf 25 minuten en 35 seconden]: “With regards to a potential escalation – ok, there are proxy forces from all these five nuclear powers, as well as their own forces engaged in Syria – but you as a president must have information as to how close have we come during this war to an escalation between these nuclear powers? ”

President Assad antwoordt: “In reality we were close to have direct conflict between the Russian forces and the American forces. Fortunately, it has been avoided. Not by the wisdom of the American leadership, but by the wisdom of the Russian leadership, because it is not in the interest of anyone in this world, first of all the Syrians, to have this conflict. “