Bashar al-Assad expressed disappointment in the Obama administration, which is working to rally congress to authorize a military intervention in Syria. Citing what he argued is the administration’s use of faulty evidence to make the case for war, the Syrian president told Rose, “We expected this administration [to be] different from Bush’s administration. They are acting the same.”

Assad argued that there is “no evidence” chemical weapons were used in his country, either by the rebel forces warring against his regime or by his own forces.

Asked about the alleged August 21 chemical weapons attack, which the Obama administration has argued was perpetrated by Assad’s forces and that left over 1,400 dead, Assad said, “We’re not sure that anything happened.”

“We only have video and we only have pictures and we only have allegations,” the Syrian president told Rose. Taking a swipe at the evidence the Obama administration has marshaled in briefings with lawmakers, he asked, “How can you talk about what happened if you don’t have evidence? We are not like the American administraiton, we are not a social-media administration.” In previous days, administration officials have played graphic videos of civilians, many of them children, perishing from what appears to be a sarin gas attack.

“We cannot talk about virtual things, we have to talk about facts,” he added.