Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has expressed hope that his country will "regain independence and freedom," Report informs via ABC News.
"This does not, in any way, diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her people — a bond that remains unshaken by any position or circumstance.
"It is a belonging filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent."
The former president also tried to rebut character assessments leveled at him in recent days.
"I reaffirm that the person who, from the very first day of the war, refused to barter the salvation of his nation for personal gain, or to compromise his people in exchange for numerous offers and enticements is the same person who stood alongside the officers and soldiers of the army on the front lines, just meters from terrorists in the most dangerous and intense battlefields," the statement read.