Beirut: Syria's embattled president gave his first speech on Tuesday since he agreed last month to an Arab League plan to halt the government's crackdown on dissent.
In his speech, Bashar Al Assad said that foreign parties are trying to destabilise Syria and that "fabrications" from inside the country led to restrictions on the media.
"Regional and international parties who are trying to destabilise Syria can no longer falsify the facts and events," he said in the speech in Damascus.
"They turned to assassinations... with regional and international media coverage," he said. "After all their attempts failed, the role of foreigners emerged."
Al Assad said Syria paid a "heavy price" and called on the people to be united amid protests against his regime.
He said Arab countries that advice “us on reforms have no knowledge of democracy”.
Al Assad reminded that in the past Arab countries backed Syria in its battles. He said Arab League without Syria is no longer an Arab organisation.
Al Assad's comments came as Syria faces international scrutiny over the regime's crackdown on dissents, which has killed thousands and led to international isolation and sanctions.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Monday that the Syrian conflict is sliding toward "civil war" and said it must be stopped.
At a joint news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara, Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said there is a need to increase international pressure to force to step down because of massacres by his regime.
"The religious, sectarian and racial structure (in Syria) is going toward a civil war right now. This must be prevented," Erdogan said.
