Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has stopped a speech in parliament, telling lawmakers he “had to sit for a minute” after suffering a blood clot.
The 54-year-old was half an hour into his speech Wednesday when he began to appear tired, pausing twice to take a sip of water from a glass in front of him.
He spoke about US sanctions on Syria and the economic crisis of the war torn country when he told the chamber: “My blood pressure has dropped and I have to drink water.”
Shortly afterwards, he said, “I have to sit for a minute if you don’t mind,” before leaving the men’s hall.
It was not clear how long he was absent, but when he returned, al-Assad, a trained doctor for eyes who is not known to have any specific health condition, joking that “doctors are the worst patients”.
“I have not eaten since yesterday afternoon. I have no sugar or salt and this is happening,” he added.
The presidency’s Facebook page said in a post that the speech would be broadcast later on Wednesday. It gave no further details.
Al-Assad spoke from a stage with the masked members of parliament.
Al-Assad was greeted by applause from lawmakers [SANA via AFP]
Syria has recently seen an increasing number of coronavirus infections, although the overall reported numbers remain low with 1,327 confirmed cases and 53 deaths. Limited test facilities and control by Syrian government over pandemic statistics have led to the fact that the actual number of cases is much higher than reported.
Al-Assad gave the speech on the occasion of the first session of parliament after elections were held last month. The vote was the third in Syria since the country’s devastating war began in 2011.
The conflict began as a mass uprising against al-Assad’s regime, but soon morphed into a full-fledged civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The election also coincided with Syria’s worst economic crisis and a currency crash that left more of the country’s population in poverty.
Al-Assad said sweeping new U.S. sanctions was a new stage of economic warfare against his government and were part of Washington’s long-standing efforts to “choke” the Syrians’ standard of living.
He also blamed the sanctions, known as the Caesar Act, for a fall in the local currency to new record lows, with panicked purchases of dollars by Syrians worried about their economic situation.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
