Syrian president claims he could retake the country, despite a heavy price

Al-Jazeera – 13 Feb 2016 – Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is “deluded” if he thinks his forces will retake all of the country from rebel fighters, the US said, after Assad claimed in an interview that victory was just a matter of time.
While vowing to win the war, Assad said the involvement of regional players in the conflict would mean “the solution will take a long time and will incur a heavy price”.
The agreement for the cessation of hostilities between the world powers falls short of a formal ceasefire, since it was not signed by the main warring parties – the opposition and government forces.
The United States reacted to Assad’s interview with disdain on Friday.  
“He’s deluded if he thinks that there’s a military solution to the conflict in Syria,” deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
“All we’re looking at – if the Syrian regime continues the fighting – is more bloodshed, more hardship and, frankly, a greater hardening of positions on either side.”
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Turkey’s Gaziantep on the Syrian border, said Assad’s comments were in stark contrast to ones he made months ago with his forces pinned down by rebels – until Russia came to his aid with air operations in late September.
Meanwhile, Russia continued its military campaign in support of Assad on Friday, just hours after the international call for a cessation of hostilities. 
Activists told Al Jazeera at least 18 people were killed in suspected Russian air strikes in the northern suburbs of Homs province