Assad told during the interview that his regime‘s eventual goal was to retake all of Syria, large swathes of which are under the control of rebel forces or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
„Regardless of whether we can do that or not, this is a goal we are seeking to achieve without any hesitation,“ he was quoted as saying.
„It makes no sense for us to say that we will give up any part,“ he added.
Assad said it would be possible to „put an end to this problem in less than a year“ if opposition supply routes from Turkey, Jordan and Iraq were cut.