Syrian President Bashar Assad said Sunday that he is determined to "eradicate terrorism", the force he blames for the outbreak of conflict in his country, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
"Syria has welcomed all constructive, genuine efforts to find a political solution to the crisis" that erupted in March 2011, Assad was quoted as saying by AFP.
In reference to the widespread rebellion that was launched against him and his government following a brutal crackdown on dissent in 2011, Damascus "is at the same time determined to confront terrorism and eradicate it," Assad added.
The Syrian President made his remarks during a meeting with a visiting delegation of Mauritanian party leaders in Damascus, according to AFP.
"The cohesion between our heroic army and the people" will ensure that Damascus emerges triumphant over the rebels, SANA reported.
Assad's remarks come two weeks after he made a rare speech in which he promised his loyalists that he would remove "terrorism" from Syria with "an iron fist".
Despite international condemnation and efforts from the global community to end the brutual sectarian conflict in Syria by bringing representatives from Damascus and the opposition to the negotiating table, the war shows no signs of stopping and considerably more than 100,000 people have died in the conflict, according to UN estimates.
