DAMASCUS (AFP) ― President Bashar al-Assad said his forces need more time to win the battle in Syria and scoffed at the idea of creating buffer zones for displaced people, as fighting raged nationwide.

Assad’s statements, in an interview with pro-regime Addounia channel, came after a car bomb rocked a funeral in a Damascus suburb on Tuesday, killing 27 people.

“I can summarize in one phrase: we are progressing, the situation on the ground is better but we have not yet won ― this will take more time,” Assad said in the interview with the private channel.

He also rejected an idea being championed by Turkey of creating buffer zones within Syria to receive those displaced by the conflict so they do not flood across the borders into neighboring countries.