LONDON, Jan. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad said his country would not scrap weapons of mass destruction if Israel does not abandon its undeclared nuclear arsenal, the British Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

    Assad was quoted by the paper as saying that Syria is entitled to defend itself by acquiring a chemical and biological deterrent, rejecting US and British demands for concessions on weapons of mass destruction.

    This is the first major statement by Syria since Libya's decision last month to scrap its nuclear and chemical programs.

    This is closer than ever before to admitting that his country possessed stockpiles of WMD, the paper said.

    "It is natural for us to look for means to defend ourselves. It is not difficult to get most of these weapons anywhere in the world and they can be obtained at anytime," he was quoted as saying.

    But Assad said that Gaddafi's surprise decision to allow international inspectors to supervise the dismantling of WMD programs was a "correct step."

    He also called on the international community to support the proposal that Syria presented to the United Nations last year for removing all WMD from the Middle East, including Israel's nuclear stockpile.

    Since the capture of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi's decision to dismantle his WMD program, Assad has risen to the top of America's target list.

    The US and Britain have been waiting for his response to Gaddafi's appeal for other Arab leaders to follow his example or risk inflicting a "tragedy" on their people.

    Blair, speaking on a flight back from Iraq before news emerged of Assad interview, repeated his hope that Syria would follow Libya's example. Enditem