Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his country will confront any Turkish invasion of its territories.

In an interview with Russia Today television on Thursday, he said in case of an invasion, Syria will respond with a popular resistance.

Of course, the resistance will take place in areas were the army forces are deployed, he said, noting that they are not positioned in all Syrian areas.

The military conditions allow for a direct confrontation, then “we will wage it”, he added.

He cited a confrontation between the Syrian and Turkish armies in 2019, noting that the Syrian army was able to destroy some Turkish targets that entered Syrian territory.

“The situation will be the same according to the available military capacities,” Syria’s official news agency SANA quoted him as saying.

Assad further noted that Russia is facing a war that cannot be tied to the issue of the NATO expansion.

“It is an ongoing war that has existed even before communism and the First World War,” Assad said, stressing that Russia’s power today constitutes, albeit partially, the restoration of the missing international balance.

He added that the aspired equilibrium will primarily affect small countries, including Syria.