In a rare interview, he told AFP news agency that defeating rebels could take some time because of the involvement of regional powers.
It came after world powers agreed to push for a cessation of hostilities in a week's time.
Earlier, the UN said it hoped to start delivering aid to some besieged areas in Syria within the next 24 hours.
Mr Assad said he would continue to fight "terrorism" during any international peace process.
More than 250,000 people have been killed and some 11 million displaced in almost five years of fighting in Syria.
Some Syrian cities have been cut off from humanitarian aid for over a year because of fighting. About 13.5 million people are in need of aid, the UN says.
Mr Assad was speaking in Damascus on Thursday, ahead of the deal on the cessation of hostilities, agreed in Munich late on Thursday night.
He said government forces would try to retake all of Syria "without any hesitation", but that the involvement of regional powers meant that "the solution will take a long time and will incur a heavy price".
BBC
12/2/16
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Syrian Foreign Ministry Has Promised to Return Home Foreign Troops in Coffins (video theguardian.com)
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to regain control of the entire country but warned it could "take a long time," in an exclusive AFP interview...
ReplyDeleteSpeaking Thursday in Damascus, Assad said his armed forces would try to retake all of Syria "without any hesitation," but that the involvement of regional players "means that the solution will take a long time and will incur a heavy price."
He rejected the UN's recent accusations that his regime is guilty of war crimes, calling the claims "politicized."
The United Nations has lambasted Assad's government for "exterminating" prisoners in its jails and detention centers, but Assad said that the accusations "serve a political agenda... and do not provide any evidence."
Asked about the offensive on Aleppo, Assad said that the main goal of Syria's armed forces in the northern province of Aleppo is to cut off access to the Turkish border.....http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/102643-160212-assad-vows-to-retake-whole-country-warns-could-take-long-time