Syria will be victorious, stronger: Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his country will emerge “victorious” and “more powerful” from the foreign-sponsored crisis.

According to a Thursday report by Lebanese satellite television Al-Manar, President Assad made the comments in a meeting with a delegation of Muslim scholars in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The assembly said in a statement following the talks, “President Assad assured that the situation in Syria is now much better than before and that Syria will emerge from the crisis victorious and more powerful.”

The Syrian president further stated that the army forces have the upper hand in their fight against the extremist terrorists, stressing that he considers the “real battle” to be against “Wahabi Takfiri militants.”

“The world is reconsidering its stances towards the crisis and is contacting Syria and other Arab countries despite the Saudi pressures,” the statement quoted President Assad as saying.

The delegation also held separate talks with Syria’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun as well as Iranian Ambassador to Damascus Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani.

Syria has been the scene of deadly unrest since March 2011. The United Nation says more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions of others displaced due to the violence.

In a message to Pope Francis in late December 2013, President Assad said Damascus will “defend all its citizens, whatever their religion, against the crimes committed by the Takfiri bands who attack them in their homes, in their places of worship and in their neighborhoods.”

On January 2, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi described 2014 as the year of the country’s victory over terrorism, praising the Syrian nation for confronting terrorist groups operating in the Arab country over the past years.