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Assad Not Backing Down

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad believes his is the winning side, and that says his government is ready to participate in the Geneva II peace conference.
An image of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is seen on a car's windscreen as Hezbollah supporters celebrate, after the Syrian army took control of Qusair from rebel fighters, in the Shi'ite town of Hermel June 5, 2013. Syrian government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies seized control of the border town of Qusair on Wednesday, dealing a major defeat to rebel fighters battling to overthrow Assad. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) -

In a recent interview (May 30), Syrian president Bashar al-Assad offered an unusually poised and confident take on Syria's current predicament.

He raised serious questions about the opposition — some of them not unlike those posed in the West. He minimizes the prospect of a Golan front against Israel and the meaning of the S-300 deal with Russia. He responds like a politician to questions about his intentions in 2014 and what he doesn't say, such as refusing to declare his candidacy when he could easily have done so, is at times as interesting and perhaps as important as what he does say. For example, his willingness "in principle" to go to Geneva.

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