Syria's Assad calls US-backed militias 'traitors'

BEIRUT – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he welcomed any United Nations role in Syrian elections as long as it was linked with Syria's sovereignty, the president's office said on Monday.

In a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin in Syria's Hmeimim base, Assad also described the US-backed militias in eastern Syria as "traitors", the president's office said on its social media feed.