Syria President Assad 'Optimistic' on Upcoming Peace Talks

Rasa - Syria's President Bashar Assad told visiting French lawmakers Sunday that he was "optimistic" about new peace talks planned for later this month, a member of the delegation said.

News ID: 426367

Date: 08 January 2017 - 21:22

RNA - Lawmaker Thierry Mariani said the Syrian president also declared himself willing to negotiate with nearly 100 rebel groups fighting against his government, excluding terror organizations, the Daily Star reported.

Assad received the three French lawmakers in the capital Damascus Sunday, a day after the delegation visited second city Aleppo, recently recaptured by the government.

Assad told the delegation he was "counting a lot" on the new peace talks expected to be convened later this month in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Mariani told AFP that Assad told the delegation he was "ready to talk" with some 91 militant groups, not including ISIL group or Al-Qaeda affiliate Fatah al-Sham Front.

Assad said he was "optimistic" and "ready for reconciliation with them on the condition that they lay down their arms," Mariani said.

Mariani added that Assad criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of jailing "more political prisoners than all the Arab countries put together."

And he said the Syrian leader dismissed accusations of war crimes by his forces by saying that no wars were clean.

"There were probably mistakes on the part of the government" that Assad said he would "condemn" and "regret," Mariani said.

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