Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has denied that his troops have killed civilians and tortured children in a brutal government crackdown against pro-democracy protests.
Assad's regime has been condemned by European nations, the United States and the Arab League for its violent response to the widespread protests, which began in March.
Activists and protesters insist that the vast majority of the protests have been explicitly peaceful.
Despite recent evidence that some of the protesters are turning to violence, particularly those defected military personel who have organised themselves into the Free Syrian Army, no mass armed resistance has yet emerged in the country.
The United Nations says that at least 4,000 people have been killed in Syria over the last 10 months, but in a rare interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters, Assad claimed that most of the people who have died were his supporters and police.
"Who said that the United Nations is a credible institution?" he said. "Most of the people that have been killed are supporters of the government, not the vice versa."
President Assad also dismissed any suggestion that he woud step down, and said that any sanctions imposed on Syria either by Europe or the Arab League would have little effect.
Challenged by Walters to explain footage and pictures showing government forces arresting children and civilians, Assad said that he "did not believe" the stories.
On the specific case of a Hamza al-Khateeb, a 13-year-old boy who was reportedly detained after a protest and was eventually returned to his parents dead, Assad again denied responsibility.
"It's not news," he said in the interview. "I met with his father, the father of that child and he said that he wasn't tortured as he appeared in the media."
Although he seemed to accept that isolated incidents of violence by government forces may have occured, Assad denied all personal responsibility.
"Every 'brute reaction' was by an individual, not by an institution, that's what you have to know," he told Walters. "There is a difference between having a policy to crackdown and between having some mistakes committed by some officials. There is a big difference."
"We don't kill our people," he added. "No government in the world kills its people, unless it's led by a crazy person."
Assad argued that reforms in Syria would happen, but insisted they would be gradual and conservative in nature.
"We never said we are democratic country," he said. "We are moving forward in reforms, especially in the last nine months... (but) it takes a lot of maturity to be full fledged democracy."
On the threat of sanctions from the Arab League and the EU, Assad said that "we've been under sanctions for the last 30, 35 years" but that trade and migration had continued.
"I did my best to protect the people," he said. "I cannot feel guilty when you do your best. You feel sorry for the lives that have been lost. But you don't feel guilty when you don't kill people. So it's not about guilty."