Referring to the issue of destroying Syria`s stockpiles of chemical weapons, Mr Assad said it was "a very complicated operation, technically".
"And it needs a lot of money, some estimates (say) about a billion.
"So it depends, you have to ask the experts what they mean by quickly. It has a certain schedule. It needs a year, or maybe a little bit more."
And when asked whether he would be willing to hand over chemical to the US, President Assad said: "It needs about one billion. It is very detrimental to the environment. If the American administration is ready to pay this money and take the responsibility of bringing toxic materials to the United States, why don`t they do it?"
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