BEIRUT, December 7. /TASS/. Russia has never "made attempts to impose its decisions on Syria during the entire history of its bilateral relations," President Bashar Assad said on Wednesday in an interview with the Al-Watan daily.
The Syrian president is convinced that "Russia’s policy is based on respect for principles of national sovereignty and non-interference into domestic affairs of other countries."
"We seek to strengthen relations with Russia. We invited Russian companies before and after the beginning of the crisis to invest in Syria," he said. "I do not think that the Syrian people would accede to participation of companies from hostile states in reconstruction of the Syrian economy."
"Russia is fighting a war against terrorism, not only for the sake of Syria," the president said. "It is the war in the interests of Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the rest of the world."
Syria’s government "does not brand all the opposition as foreign agents," Assad continued. "We are ready to hold talks with those who have no connection to terrorists and foreign special services," he said, noting the agreements on local reconciliation reached by government forces and armed units in different Syrian regions were "a real and practical solution to the conflict."
The battle for Aleppo will become a pivotal point in the Syria conflict, the Syrian president stressed. "Liberation of Aleppo will mean the failure of a plot of regional forces and the West against Syria," he said.