Syrian regime's Walid al-Moualem tells UN 'victory within reach'

Syrian regime Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem has told the United Nations that the end of the country's six-year war is on the doorstep, following recent military victories by pro-Damascus forces.

Moualem told the United Nations on Saturday that a final victory for Bashar al-Assad was "now within reach" after the Islamic State group and rebels were pushed back.

"The liberation of Aleppo and Palmyra, the lifting of the siege of Deir az-Zour and the eradication of terrorism from many parts of Syria prove that victory is now within reach," Walid al-Moualem told the UN General Assembly.

The foreign minister, who also holds the rank of deputy prime minister, said Syrian regime forces will be remembered as heroes for their role in the war.

"When this unjust war in Syria is over, the Syrian army will go down in history as the army that heroically defeated, along with its supported forces and its allies, the terrorists that came to Syria from many countries," he said.

Syria's regime have been criticised by the UN and human rights groups for indiscriminate shelling, bombing and the use of chemical weapons.

The UN recently asserted that the Syrian regime was responsible for a sarin chemical attack on an opposition village, killing around 100 civilians.

Muallem again rejected the accusation of chemical weapons use in his address.