Assad says int'l policy change on Syria must start with ending "terror support"

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Monday that any change in international policies toward Syria must start by halting the support to "armed terrorist groups" in Syria, state TV reported.

"Any international changes should start first by halting the political support to the terrorists and their funding and armament," Assad said. "Then we can say that this change has become a real change."

Assad's remarks were an apparent response to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's statement Sunday that Washington wants to "reignite" negotiations with Assad to end the conflict in Syria.

The Syrian people, rather than not the international powers, are the only ones to decide whether their president stays or leaves, Assad said.

Observers say Kerry's remarks represent a shift in international policies toward solving the Syrian conflict politically through negotiations with Assad, who has long been criticized by the West as "illegitimate." Endit