Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Tuesday “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants to liberate Syria from terror when he is the biggest terrorist,” accusing him of being the one who created the Islamic State and its associates.
"If he departs Syria we will see an end to terrorism," Hariri said via his Twitter account.
Assad vowed on Tuesday to fight on in what he called Syria's war against terrorism, showing no sign of compromise in his first major address since peace talks broke down in April.
Assad said he would win back "every inch" of Syria and said Aleppo would be a graveyard for the hopes and dreams of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, a major sponsor of the insurgents battling to topple him.
"Our war against terrorism is continuing," Assad said in a speech to parliament broadcast by state TV. "As we liberated Tadmur (Palmyra) and before it many areas, we will liberate every inch of Syria from their hands. Our only option is victory, otherwise Syria will not continue."
The Syrian army and its allies, aided by Russian air strikes, recovered control of Palmyra from Islamic State in March. In addition to the war with Islamic State, Assad is fighting insurgents who include groups that have received support from his foreign enemies, Turkey included.