Damascus, December 11 (RHC)-- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has blasted Europe’s key role in creating chaos in Syria, saying the current refugee crisis in European countries is a consequence of their support for terrorism in the Arab country.

“Why do you have refugees in Europe?  It’s a simple question: because of terrorism that’s being supported by Europe,” the Syrian president said.  “Europe was the main player in creating chaos in Syria.  So, what goes around comes around,” he noted in an interview with Italian TV channel Rai News 24.

The interview was originally given to the Italian TV channel last month, and was expected to go on air on December 2; however, the channel initially refused to broadcast it, according to Syria’s official news agency SANA, which published the full text of the interview this week.

“They sent armaments; they created this chaos.  That’s why a lot of people find it difficult to stay in Syria; millions of people couldn’t live here so they had to get out of Syria,” he added.  The Syrian president also warned about other repercussions of external support for terrorism in the Arab state.

“Definitely, whenever you have chaos, it’s going to be bad for everyone.  It’s going to have side-effects and repercussions, especially when there is external interference,” he explained.