Damascus "will comply" with a UN Security Council resolution ordering the destruction of the country's chemical arsenal, President Bashar al-Assad told Italian channel Rai News 24.

In remarks republished by Syrian state news agency SANA, Assad also said that "so long as the United States is honest," a US-Iranian rapprochement would have a "positive" impact on Syria and the Middle East. But Assad said most European states "are unable" to play a role in the proposed peace process for Syria.

AFP