Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has been bolstered by a series of recent military gains, is striking an optimistic tone about the prospects of peace talks aimed at ending his country's five-year-long civil war.
Speaking with Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency Wednesday, the embattled Syrian president said the international talks in Geneva should result in a government that includes both opposition representatives and officials loyal to his regime.
It would be "logical that independent forces, opposition forces, and forces loyal to the state would be represented" in a a new government, Assad said. "This is the aim of Geneva — intra-Syrian dialogue — during which we agree the format of the government," he said.