"It’s still working, the ceasefire, but we don’t have to forget that terrorist groups violate this agreement, on a daily basis. But at the same time, we have the right, according to that agreement, to retaliate whenever the terrorists attack our government forces. So, actually you can say it’s still working in most of the areas," Assad told Australia’s SBS broadcaster in an interview whose transcript was published on the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Syria does not include the unarmed political opposition to its list of terrorist groups, only those who take up arms, Bashar Assad said.
"When you talk about an opposition group that adopts the political means, they’re not terrorists. Whenever you hold machineguns or any other armaments and you terrorize people and you attack civilians and you attack public and private properties, you are a terrorist," Assad told SBS.
Speaking in an interview whose transcript was published on the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) Friday, Assad maintained that the opposition "cannot be a surrogate opposition that works as a proxy to other countries."
"It must be a Syrian opposition that’s related to its Syrian grassroots, like in your country," he stressed.
