File photo of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad waving to supporters. EPA/BGNES
Embattled Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has given an interview sharply renewing criticism of what he called Western countries' help of Al-Qaeda in Syria and elsewhere.
In the interview, to be aired Wednesday on Syrian state TV channel Al-Ikhbariya, Assad says that the support for radical Islamist militants will rebound back at Western countries.
"The West will pay the price later in the heart of Europe and the United States," stated the Syrian President.
Lately, it has transpired that radical Islamist groups have increasingly taken the lead among the groups battling Assad in Syria's bloody civil war.
The regime has been claiming that militants fighting against it are receiving funds and weapons from outside of Syria.
In the interview, Assad recalls earlier Western sponsoring of Al-Qaeda in its begginings at the time of the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan.
He reiterated his resolution to not give up the fight and make a stand against the insurgents.
"There is no option but victory, otherwise it will be the end of Syria and I don't think that the Syrian people will accept such an option," said Assad.