Assad Says He's Willing To Talk To Opposition

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has warned Western countries against intervening in his country's affairs but says he is now willing to talk to members of the opposition.

In an interview with Russian television, he said: "We will cooperate with all political powers, both those who had existed before the crisis, and those who arose during it. We believe interacting with these powers is extremely important."

But in an earlier interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he said any interference would cause an "earthquake" that would "burn the whole region".

Mr Assad has drawn repeated condemnation from the United Nations (UN), Arab League and Western governments for the violent manner in which he has tried to crush a seven-month uprising.

He told the newspaper that Western countries "are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely", adding: "But Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different."

"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line and, if you play with the ground, you will cause an earthquake.

"Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans? Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region.

"If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region."

The UN estimates 3,000 people, including nearly 200 children, have been killed in the unrest.

Since the start of protests in March, Syrian authorities have blamed the violence on gunmen they say have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.

Syria has barred most international media, making it hard to verify accounts from activists and authorities.

Mr Assad said Syrian authorities had made "many mistakes" in the early part of the uprising, but that the situation had now improved.

The president said he had responded differently to the Arab Spring than other, deposed Arab leaders.

"We didn't go down the road of stubborn government," he told the paper.

"Six days after (the protests began), I commenced reform.

"People were skeptical that the reforms were an opiate for the people, but when we started announcing the reforms, the problems started decreasing... This is when the tide started to turn. This is when people started supporting the government."