Bashar Assad has vowed to recapture the whole of Syria and keep "fighting terrorism" while also negotiating an end to the war, as international pressure mounts for a ceasefire.
His defiant stance, in an exclusive interview with AFP released Friday, doused hopes of an imminent halt to hostilities, which world powers are pushing to take effect within a week.
Assad said the main aim of a Russian-backed government offensive in Aleppo province that has prompted tens of thousands of people to flee was to cut the rebels' supply route from Turkey.
He said his government's eventual goal was to retake all of the country, large swathes of which are controlled by rebel forces or ISIS.
"It makes no sense for us to say that we will give up any part," he said in the interview conducted Thursday in Damascus.
Assad said it would be possible to "put an end to this problem in less than a year" if opposition supply routes from Turkey, Jordan and Iraq were severed.
But if not, he said, "the solution will take a long time and will incur a heavy price."
Assad said he saw a risk that Turkey and Saudi Arabia, key backers of the opposition, would intervene militarily in Syria.
World powers agreed Friday an ambitious plan to cease hostilities in Syria within a week, but doubts soon emerged over its viability, especially because it did not include ISIS or Al-Qaeda's local branch.
- Aid deliveries -
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there were "no illusions" about the difficulty of implementing a nationwide "cessation of hostilities" as he announced the deal in Munich alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov underlined that "terrorist organisations" such as ISIS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front "do not fall under the truce, and we and the U.S.-led coalition will keep fighting these structures."
Russia says its more than four-month-old bombing campaign in Syria targets ISIS and other "terrorists," but critics accuse Moscow of focusing on mainstream rebels.
The Munich deal went further than expected, with Lavrov talking about "direct contacts between the Russian and U.S. military" on the ground, where the powers back opposing sides in the five-year-old conflict.
The 17-nation International Syria Support Group also agreed that "sustained delivery" of humanitarian aid will begin "immediately."
But after Assad's forces this month nearly encircled Aleppo, Syria's second city, several nations put the onus on Moscow to implement the deal.
- 'Huge question marks' -
"Through its military action on the side of Assad's government, Russia had recently seriously compromised the political process. Now there is a chance to save this process," German foreign ministry spokeswoman Christiane Wirzt said.
"What is important now is embracing this opportunity, stopping the airstrikes, ceasing targeting civilians and providing humanitarian access," added Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Twitter.
Analysts remained skeptical about the chances of ending a war that has killed more than 260,000 people and displaced more than half the population.
"There are huge question marks," said Julien Barnes-Dacey of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
The failure to include Nusra was particularly important, he said, since the group is active in Aleppo and surrounding regions, and many of the more "moderate" rebels have links with it.
"This effectively gives the green light for the Syrian government and its allies to carry on military action while paying lip service to the agreement," said Barnes-Dacey.
Other analysts said it was significant that the U.S. and Russia had been able to strike a deal at all.
The U.S. and Russia have "taken ownership of this now. This is important," said Michael Williams, a former U.N. diplomat in Lebanon at London's Chatham House think tank.
"The parties, the opponents will notice this. It will put quite a bit of pressure on Assad and his (government). It's very hard for them now to walk away."
- 'Words on paper' -
Peace talks collapsed earlier this month over the offensive on Aleppo, which has forced at least 50,000 people to flee and killed an estimated 500 people since it began on Feb. 1.
A key Syrian opposition body, the High Negotiations Committee, said Friday it was up to rebels on the ground whether to implement the deal.
Kerry said talks between the opposition and the government would resume as soon as possible, but warned that "what we have here are words on paper – what we need to see in the next few days are actions on the ground".
Russia and the West remain starkly at odds on several issues, particularly Moscow's failure to focus its bombing on ISIS.
"So far Russia has mainly targeted opposition groups and not ISIL (ISIS) and intense air strikes against different opposition groups in Syria have actually undermined efforts to reach a negotiated peaceful resolution," said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at the Munich Security Conference Friday.
"We need a lasting ceasefire, we need help to the civilians, we need a political negotiated solution," he said.
His defiant stance, in an exclusive interview with AFP released Friday, doused hopes of an imminent halt to hostilities, which world powers are pushing to take effect within a week.
Assad said the main aim of a Russian-backed government offensive in Aleppo province that has prompted tens of thousands of people to flee was to cut the rebels' supply route from Turkey.
He said his government's eventual goal was to retake all of the country, large swathes of which are controlled by rebel forces or ISIS.
"It makes no sense for us to say that we will give up any part," he said in the interview conducted Thursday in Damascus.
Assad said it would be possible to "put an end to this problem in less than a year" if opposition supply routes from Turkey, Jordan and Iraq were severed.
But if not, he said, "the solution will take a long time and will incur a heavy price."
Assad said he saw a risk that Turkey and Saudi Arabia, key backers of the opposition, would intervene militarily in Syria.
World powers agreed Friday an ambitious plan to cease hostilities in Syria within a week, but doubts soon emerged over its viability, especially because it did not include ISIS or Al-Qaeda's local branch.
- Aid deliveries -
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there were "no illusions" about the difficulty of implementing a nationwide "cessation of hostilities" as he announced the deal in Munich alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov underlined that "terrorist organisations" such as ISIS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front "do not fall under the truce, and we and the U.S.-led coalition will keep fighting these structures."
Russia says its more than four-month-old bombing campaign in Syria targets ISIS and other "terrorists," but critics accuse Moscow of focusing on mainstream rebels.
The Munich deal went further than expected, with Lavrov talking about "direct contacts between the Russian and U.S. military" on the ground, where the powers back opposing sides in the five-year-old conflict.
The 17-nation International Syria Support Group also agreed that "sustained delivery" of humanitarian aid will begin "immediately."
But after Assad's forces this month nearly encircled Aleppo, Syria's second city, several nations put the onus on Moscow to implement the deal.
- 'Huge question marks' -
"Through its military action on the side of Assad's government, Russia had recently seriously compromised the political process. Now there is a chance to save this process," German foreign ministry spokeswoman Christiane Wirzt said.
"What is important now is embracing this opportunity, stopping the airstrikes, ceasing targeting civilians and providing humanitarian access," added Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Twitter.
Analysts remained skeptical about the chances of ending a war that has killed more than 260,000 people and displaced more than half the population.
"There are huge question marks," said Julien Barnes-Dacey of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
The failure to include Nusra was particularly important, he said, since the group is active in Aleppo and surrounding regions, and many of the more "moderate" rebels have links with it.
"This effectively gives the green light for the Syrian government and its allies to carry on military action while paying lip service to the agreement," said Barnes-Dacey.
Other analysts said it was significant that the U.S. and Russia had been able to strike a deal at all.
The U.S. and Russia have "taken ownership of this now. This is important," said Michael Williams, a former U.N. diplomat in Lebanon at London's Chatham House think tank.
"The parties, the opponents will notice this. It will put quite a bit of pressure on Assad and his (government). It's very hard for them now to walk away."
- 'Words on paper' -
Peace talks collapsed earlier this month over the offensive on Aleppo, which has forced at least 50,000 people to flee and killed an estimated 500 people since it began on Feb. 1.
A key Syrian opposition body, the High Negotiations Committee, said Friday it was up to rebels on the ground whether to implement the deal.
Kerry said talks between the opposition and the government would resume as soon as possible, but warned that "what we have here are words on paper – what we need to see in the next few days are actions on the ground".
Russia and the West remain starkly at odds on several issues, particularly Moscow's failure to focus its bombing on ISIS.
"So far Russia has mainly targeted opposition groups and not ISIL (ISIS) and intense air strikes against different opposition groups in Syria have actually undermined efforts to reach a negotiated peaceful resolution," said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at the Munich Security Conference Friday.
"We need a lasting ceasefire, we need help to the civilians, we need a political negotiated solution," he said.
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