DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad told a Russian television channel his country was working hard to unmask the external plots threatening national stability.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad began in mid-March. Damascus blames armed insurgents and external elements for much of the violence.
Assad told Russia's Rossiya 1 television channel that his country was working to "to unmask the external plot against Syria."
He warned that Syria was positioned on a geopolitical "tectonic plate," saying the region would experience a massive political earthquake if Damascus faced further outside pressure.
The U.N. Security Council has been unable to pass a resolution condemning the bloodshed in Syria in large part because of veto threats from China and Russia. Both say they worry about a protracted international military conflict in Syria.
Calls for some sort of international military intervention are growing on online social networking sites supporting the Syrian opposition.
The Arab League, meanwhile, told CNN that it called on Damascus to pull its military forces from the street and end the crackdown against demonstrators in the country.
A national dialogue between Syrian officials and members of the opposition was proposed by the Arab League for Wednesday in Cairo.
