Assad: Syria is engaged in regional and international war

Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed that Syria is engaged in a regional and international battle, noting that the situation is technically getting better.         

 In an interview with al-Dunia channel, Assad said that Syria will not go backwards because of the ignorance of Turkish officials. “We hold on to the relation with the Turkish people who stand by us during the crisis and was not dragged by media and financial pressure”, Assad said Assad said that Turkish government has “direct responsibility for the blood being shed in Syria”.        

 The Syrian president noted that talks about buffer zones do not exist, “even for countries playing the enemy role”, noting that “Syria does not need a green light in sovereign and local issues, neither from friends nor from enemies”.                        

Assad stressed that every person who has committed crimes or sought to extend the crisis must be held accountable.           

Commenting on the defections, Assad pointed that defections usually take place inside the country not outside, whoever fled Syria is a fugitive, adding that these are considered a “self-cleaning process”.