'Want to be remembered as the man who saved Syria'

President Bashar al-Assad says he wants to be remembered 10 years from now as the person who saved Syria, according to an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais published on Saturday.

Assad, whose fate has been a key sticking point in efforts to end Syria's bloody civil war as it enters its sixth year, left open the question of whether he would still be president by then.

And he said he was ready to implement a long-sought ceasefire, but only if the rebels and their international backers such as Turkey did not use it as a chance to gain ground.

"In 10 years, if I can save Syria as president -- but that doesn't mean I'm still going to be president in 10 years, I'm just talking about my vision of the 10 years," he said in an interview published on the newspaper's website.

Assad said the support of his Russian and Iranian allies had been "essential" in the recent major advances made by regime forces. "We definitely need that help for a simple reason: because more than 80 countries supported those terrorists in different ways," he told El Pais.

Russia committing war crimes: Amnesty

Meanwhile Amnesty International accused Russia of committing some of the most "egregious" war crimes seen in decades.

The leading human rights organisation said Moscow's air force has not only been targeting civilians and aid workers in Syria over the last week, but that warplanes have been deliberately attacking those attempting to treat the victims.

Tirana Hassan, director of Amnesty's crisis response programme, told Sky News: "We've documented strikes on schools, strikes on hospitals and civilian homes. And one of the most egregious parts of what Russia and the Syrian forces are doing is that they're bombing these civilian targets when it itself is a war crime.

The Kremlin has in the past rejected suggestions that it has intentionally been hitting civilian zones, insisting that it is only dropping bombs on terrorist targets. Russian president Vladimir Putin's official spokesperson denied the country is guilty of war crimes, dismissing them as "unfounded accusations".