Assad: I Did Not Order Syria Bloodshed

Syrian president Bashar al Assad has denied ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters, saying only a "crazy person" would do so.

Speaking in Damascus, Mr Assad told ABC News' Barbara Walters that he did his "best to protect the people" and that he gave "no command to kill or to be brutal".

"There is a difference between having a policy to crack down and between having some mistakes committed by some officials. There is a big difference," he said.

The president also dismissed a recent UN report which estimated that more than 4,000 people have died since uprisings began.

"Who said that the United Nations is a credible institution?" he said.

"Most of the people that have been killed are supporters of the government, not the vice versa."

Mr Assad claimed that the toll actually consists of 1,100 dead soldiers and police and blamed on "individuals" rather than his regime.

"I did my best to protect the people," he said.

"I cannot feel guilty when you do your best. You feel sorry for the lives that have been lost. But you don't feel guilty when you don't kill people. So it's not about guilty."

The British-educated leader said he was not phased by threats of sanctions by the Arab League and the wider international community.

"We've been under sanctions for the last 30, 35 years. It's not something new."

He said democracy was a long way off in Syria, despite pledges of reform.

"We never said we are democratic country," he said. "We are moving forward in reforms, especially in the last nine months.

"It takes a long time, it takes a lot of maturity to be a full-fledged democracy."