Update: Assad says Syria awaits actions, not statements by West

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Monday that his administration awaits actions not only statements by Western powers, responding to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's remarks about "reigniting" negotiations with Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported.

"We are listening to the statements, but we have to wait for the actions and then we can decide," Assad said.

Assad's remarks were an apparent response to Kerry's statement on Sunday that Washington wants to "reignite" negotiations with Assad to end the conflict in Syria.

"Any international changes would be a positive thing if it was honest and had results on the ground," he said.

Any change in the international policies toward Syria should start first by halting the political support to the terrorists and their funding and armament and heaping pressure on the European countries and the regional countries that are affiliated to the West, Assad said. "Then we can say that this change has become a real change."

Meanwhile, Assad commented on the prospects of the next phase in Syria, saying that "regarding the situation in Syria, we don't have a choice but to defend our homeland."

The president added that the Syrian people are the only ones to decide whether their president stays or leaves, not the international powers. Endit