Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that de-escalation zones proposed by his ally Russia were a chance for rebels to "reconcile" with Damascus and drive out Islamist militants, but vowed to fight on calling U.N.-led peace talks fruitless. Assad pledged, in an interview with Belarusian TV Channel ONT aired on Thursday, to defend the zones and to crush, with the support of Iran and Hezbollah, those who try to breach them. Damascus has said rebels should help drive jihadist groups out of the de-escalation zones, and sees so-called reconciliation agreements, which have involved the evacuation of rebels from besieged areas, as an alternative to peace talks. Violence reduced somewhat after the de-escalation zones were announced last week, but heavy fighting persists in some areas. Assad said he was "not tired" and would continue to fight terrorists - the government's term for all insurgents.

Source: Egypt Independent May 11, 2017 19:41 UTC