Assad says Europe will 'pay price' if it arms rebels - newspaper

A Free Syrian Army fighter points his weapon as he takes a position in Deraa during what the Free Syrian Army said an offensive to liberate the checkpoint No. 41, a border point with Jordan, June 14, 2013. Picture taken June 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ali Abu Salah/Shaam News Network/Handout via Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) - Europe will "pay the price" if it delivers arms to rebel forces in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with a German newspaper.

"If the Europeans deliver weapons, the backyard of Europe will become terrorist and Europe will pay the price for it," he said in an advance extract of an interview due to be published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Tuesday.