Syria's Assad says foreign states will pay for supporting 'terrorism'

BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad, who was sworn in for a new term on Wednesday, said Western and Arab states that have supported "terrorism" will pay a "high price"and that he would fight insurgents until security was restored to the whole country.

"Soon we will see that the Arab, regional and Western states that supported terrorism will pay a high price," he told his supporters at the presidential palace.

Mr Assad, supported by Russia and Iran, has defied calls by Western states to step aside during the conflict that started in 2011 with protests against his rule before descending into a war that has killed at least 170,000 people.

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