BEIRUT, January 6 (Itar-Tass) — Syria is grateful to Russia, China and other countries that “prevented interference into the country’s domestic affairs,” President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday.
“The Syrian people will never forget Russia’s friendly position,” he said at the meeting with members of the public.
He emphasized that from the very beginning of the crisis Syria had not rejected an opportunity for its political settlement. But those, “who say that only this way will stop the conflict, ignore the reality and the terrorist threat that hangs over the country.”
Focusing on the dialogue with the opposition factions inside and outside Syria, al-Assad noted that he would not conduct talks with “puppets created by the West that fulfill its instructions.”
“We will speak with masters, not with servants,” he said.