Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denies his army is killing Syrian people.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) SYRIAN PRESIDENT, BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SAYING:

"The problem is not between me and the people; I do not have a problem with the people because the United States is against me and the West is against me and many other Arab countries, including Turkey which is not Arab of course, are against me. If the Syrian people are against me, how can I be here?"

Assad denied he has lost support of the Syrian people.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) SYRIAN PRESIDENT, BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SAYING:

"If the whole world, or let us say a big part of the world, including your people, are against you, are you a superman? You are just a human being. So, this is not logical. It is not about reconciling with the people and it is not about reconciliation between the Syrians and the Syrians; we do not have a civil war. It is about terrorism and the support coming from abroad to terrorists to destabilize Syria. This is our war."

The Assad interview was pre-recorded by Russian television on Thursday and aired on Friday.