Syria conflict between nation, enemies: President Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the ongoing conflict in his country is not between the state and opposition but between the nation and its enemies.

In a key speech on the situation in the country, Assad said on Sunday that his government will always extend its hand for dialogue with the opposition and political parties.

The Syrian president, however, said that the government “will not have dialogue with a puppet made by the West.”

“Government will call for a comprehensive national dialogue” in the near future, he said.

“Syria wants peace and reconciliation,” he said, adding that “Armed groups must halt terrorist acts.”

The president added that the constitution will be subjected to referendum and that general amnesty will be announced.

Assad warned that that there is an “agenda to partition Syria” but stated that “the nation is for all and we all must protect it.”

“Any initiative must be based on Syrian vision,” Assad said, adding “we are to go ahead with own political process.”

The president went on to say that the Geneva initiative on the transition in Syria was ambigiuous. He also said that “Any talk of revolution in Syria is just bubbles of soap.”

The Syrian president lauded people in the villages that tried to block the enterance of militants from Turkey, adding that “the nation is for those who protect it.”

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants fighting the Syrian government are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused the foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes.