Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that setbacks are a normal part of any war and do not mean the conflict is lost, in his first comments after several regime defeats.
“Today we are fighting a war, not a battle. War is not one battle, but a series of many battles,” he said at a rare public appearance on Syria’s Martyrs Day.
“We are not talking about tens or hundreds but thousands of battles and … it is the nature of battles for there to be advances and retreats, victories and losses, ups and downs.”
