President Bashar al Assad scotched any suggestion he might flee Syria and warned any Western military intervention to topple him would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East and beyond.
Speaking in an interview with Russia Today television, Mr Assad said he did not see the West embarking on a military intervention in Syria and said the cost of such action would be unbearable.
"I think the cost of a foreign invasion of Syria – if it happens – would be bigger than the entire world can bear. This will have a domino effect that will affect the world from the Atlantic to the Pacific," he said.
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