Since the launch of the Russian air campaign in Syria, the situation has improved and the government’s army has been making advances on every front, President Bashar Assad said.

In an interview with Chinese news channel Phoenix, Assad said that “Syria is at war with extremist fighters flocking from more than 100 countries, duly supported and funded by regional and international powers like the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”

According to Assad, Turkey’s ambitious design to establish a Muslim brotherhood state in the region has taken firm hold of its policies and helped protract the conflict in Syria.

“Russia’s campaign is effective in Syria because it has been cooperating with the Syrian forces unlike the American alliance,” he noted.

Assad expressed Syria’s readiness to initiate peace talks with the opposition in Moscow, stressing that terrorism cannot be defeated unless met with constructive dialogue.

“A political process in Syria however can only be achieved when ISIS is declawed,” he argued.