Assad gives interview, photo by theseoduke via Creative Commons

In the interview, from the Syrian capital of Damascus,

Assad continued to criticize the United States and other Western powers for trying to increase the seriousness of the deal with a United Nations resolution. 

He told the Chinese television station CCTV, that the U.S., France and Britain wanted "to appear victorious in their battles against an imaginary enemy, which they assume is Syria."

Last week U.S. officials announced that Washington and Moscow were in agreement that Syria had roughly 1,100 tons of chemical weapons agents and precursors—including blister agents like sulfur and mustard gas, and nerve agents like sarin.

Assad, however, warned that rebels seeking to overthrow his regime may block the international inspectors from reaching some of the locations where chemical weapons are currently being stored.

A spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that so far the Syrian government has complied with international requests, having submitted a preliminary disclosure of their weapons program. 

"Since its independence, Syria has been committed to all the treaties it has signed," Assad said. "We will honor everything that we have agreed to do."

The United States, however, remains firm in its dedication to taking whatever actions necessary—though the United Nations or otherwise—to ensure that Syria upholds its promises. 

"[President Obama] will reinforce the need for the international community to stand strongly against the use of chemical weapons and continue to argue for a clear diplomatic process to put [Syrian President Bashar] Assad's chemical weapons under international control and ultimately destroy them," Rhodes said in a telephone briefing, anticipating what Obama will say in the U.N. meeting in Syria later today. 

Contact Executive Producer Sara Newman here and follow her on Twitter.