In a rare public appearance, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has outlined a new peace initiative but blasted his opponents as murderers and puppets.
Speaking in a televised address from a Damascus opera house packed with cheering supporters, Assad acknowledged the devastation of the country's 21-month conflict, saying that "suffering is overwhelming the Syrian land."
"Today, I look at your faces and I look at the faces of the sons of my country. They are full of sorrow and pain," he said. "I look at the eyes of the children of Syria; I don't see innocent smiles and I don't hear innocent laughter. I also don't see them playing in a way that puts smiles on their faces. I don't see them playing with toys. I hold the hands of the elderly. I find that the elderly are praying for their sons or for their daughters or for their grandchildren."
Assad went on to unveil a peace initiative, including a national reconciliation conference and the drafting of a new constitution.
But Assad's rhetoric was uncompromising. Any reconciliation talks, he said, would exclude "those who have betrayed Syria" -- a tacit reference to the armed opposition, which he described as a "puppet made by the West."
Assad also denied the opposition fighting was a political uprising against his family's decades-long rule, blaming the violence on "murderous criminals" and jihadists.
Opposition forces, who have called for Assad's removal from power, are almost certain to reject the presidential initiative.
Walid Bunni, a spokesman for the Syrian opposition National Coalition, said Assad's speech was aimed at wrecking diplomatic efforts led by UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi to end the civil war.
In Brussels, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc would not alter its demand that Assad step aside in order to make way for a political transition.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague described Assad's speech as "beyond hypocritical." In a message on Twitter, Hague said the "deaths, violence and oppression engulfing Syria are [Assad's] own making."
The United Nations says as many as 60,000 people have been killed in fighting between government forces and armed opposition groups in March 2011.
Speaking in a televised address from a Damascus opera house packed with cheering supporters, Assad acknowledged the devastation of the country's 21-month conflict, saying that "suffering is overwhelming the Syrian land."
"Today, I look at your faces and I look at the faces of the sons of my country. They are full of sorrow and pain," he said. "I look at the eyes of the children of Syria; I don't see innocent smiles and I don't hear innocent laughter. I also don't see them playing in a way that puts smiles on their faces. I don't see them playing with toys. I hold the hands of the elderly. I find that the elderly are praying for their sons or for their daughters or for their grandchildren."
Assad went on to unveil a peace initiative, including a national reconciliation conference and the drafting of a new constitution.
But Assad's rhetoric was uncompromising. Any reconciliation talks, he said, would exclude "those who have betrayed Syria" -- a tacit reference to the armed opposition, which he described as a "puppet made by the West."
Assad also denied the opposition fighting was a political uprising against his family's decades-long rule, blaming the violence on "murderous criminals" and jihadists.
Opposition forces, who have called for Assad's removal from power, are almost certain to reject the presidential initiative.
Walid Bunni, a spokesman for the Syrian opposition National Coalition, said Assad's speech was aimed at wrecking diplomatic efforts led by UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi to end the civil war.
In Brussels, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc would not alter its demand that Assad step aside in order to make way for a political transition.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague described Assad's speech as "beyond hypocritical." In a message on Twitter, Hague said the "deaths, violence and oppression engulfing Syria are [Assad's] own making."
The United Nations says as many as 60,000 people have been killed in fighting between government forces and armed opposition groups in March 2011.