- NEW: "We are waiting for the U.N. to take steps" to aid refugees, Turkish official says
- The president says the destiny of Syrians is in their hands
- Armed forces, police and security forces "are carrying out heroic duties," he says
- Rights groups urge neighboring nations to keep their borders open
(CNN) -- Despite a rapidly deteriorating conflict that has left thousands dead in 18 months of violence, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says "the situation is much better."
"This military is carrying out its duties. The armed forces, the police and the security forces are carrying out heroic duties with every sense," al-Assad said in an interview to air Wednesday on the pro-government Al-Dounia TV.
The station released snippets of the interview Tuesday.
Al-Assad has consistently said government forces are battling terrorists in the nation, a term the regime uses to describe those seeking the president's ouster.
"If there's one Syrian citizen who knows one of these men who is hesitant and has that desire to desert (the terrorist groups), let him encourage him to do so," he said.
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The president said the destiny of Syrians is in their hands, and he maintained that he remains at the presidential palace in Damascus.
"The battle is a battle of perseverance," he said. "But we will go over all of this and explain it with one sentence, and that is we are moving forward. Realistically, the situation is better."
Al-Assad rarely gives interviews but has appeared in public at various times. On Sunday, he met with senior Iranian officials in Damascus but did not give a speech. A week earlier, he attended Eid prayers at a mosque in the capital.
His latest statement comes after a government crackdown on Damascus neighborhoods left hundreds dead in the past few days, according to opposition groups.
After days of carnage in Daraya, violence has shifted to a city farther north. Government forces launched an aerial attack in the northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, killing 23 people, opposition activists said.
Here are the latest key developments in the crisis:
Turkey proposes a buffer zone
The Turkish foreign minister is proposing a United Nations-sanctioned buffer zone inside Syria to provide refugees with a haven and help distribute humanitarian aid. But al-Assad dismissed talks of such zones.
"I believe all the talks about safe zones, first, do not exist on the practical side, and secondly, it is not realistically possible even for those countries who are playing the transgressor or the rival role," he said in the Al-Dounia interview.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will attend a U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria in New York on Thursday, where he will bring up the proposal.
"We are waiting for the U.N. to take steps toward ensuring the safety of the refugees inside Syria and if possible to be housed in camps there," Davutoglu said.
Rights groups call on neighboring nations to keep their borders open
Syria's neighbors are feeling the effects of the conflict as civilians flock to their nations.
About 9,000 Syrians converged on the Syrian side of the Turkish border, where screening procedures have ended at some border crossings, Human Rights Watch said.
Turkey has 80,410 refugees from Syria, Turkish officials said, the largest number among the neighboring countries.
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have granted Syrians various types of legal status, including short-term renewable visas and temporary protection, the group said. They have not offered them refugee status, which offers specific rights under international law.
The rights group urged donor nations to support the refugees and called on Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon to keep their borders open despite the swelling numbers.
"For many years, Syria kept its borders open to Palestinians, Lebanese and Iraqis fleeing conflict in their countries and allowed them free movement," said Bill Frelick, refugee program director at Human Rights Watch. "Today, as Syrians flee horrific violence, neighboring countries should extend them the same hospitality."
Jordan opens hospital for Syrian refugees
Jordan set up a field hospital at refugee camps near the border with Syria to help those fleeing the civil war, Jordanian authorities said Tuesday.
Volunteer doctors and nurses from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and other nations will team up to provide free medical care to those displaced to Jordan.
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