Syria's President Bashar al Assad is vowing to "retake the country".

The President claimed he wanted to continue peace talks, while at the same time fighting what he called "terrorism".

The statement has raised further doubts about a pause in hostilities planned for next week.

President Assad says efforts to find a peace deal won't stop his forces fighting the rebels:

Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev rejected accusations that his country's forces have bombed civilians in Syria, saying this was "just not true".

"There is no evidence of our bombing civilians, even though everyone is accusing us of this," Medvedev told a security conference in Munich.

He was responding to a call from French Prime Minister Manuel Valls who said Russian bombing of civilians must stop.