Bashar al-Assad speaks to Swiss television

In an interview with Swiss public television, SRF, aired on Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied government forces bombed hospitals indiscriminately.

He also dismissed United Nations allegations into his army’s use of chemical weapons. 

Assad said the roles in the conflict were clearly divided, with his government and ‘friends of Syria’ Russia, Iran and China defending the country ‘against the terrorists that have been invading Syria as proxies to other countries’.

Assad said he still believed in a diplomatic solution to the conflict, but added that it was impossible to deal with groups like al-Qaeda, al-Nusra and ISIS.

The interview with the Syrian president took place under strict conditions, defined by the government. The talks were filmed by the Syrian government. The Ministry of Information set the duration of the interview in advance (20 minutes). In addition, the conversation had to be broadcast in full length in Switzerland. SRF were allowed to ask questions without having to submit them in advance.