DAMASCUS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday accused the Western countries of preventing the return of Syrian refugees to their country, the state news agency SANA reported.

Assad made the remarks during his meeting with a delegation of Italian lawmakers and politicians headed by Senator Paolo Romani in the capital Damascus.

According to the report, Assad said that the position of most European countries about events in Syria was detached from reality since the beginning of the crisis over eight years ago.

The president said that Western countries, "mainly the United States, as well as Turkey," are still hindering the full elimination of terrorism, and preventing the return of Syrians to their homeland.

Members of the Italian delegation said that European governments should adopt a different policy toward the events in Syria based on reality instead of false media propaganda.