Assad says it wouldn't be difficult to form new Syrian government with opposition leaders

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russian media it would only take a few weeks for his country to draft a new constitution and agree on a government that included members of the opposition.

His opponents argue that as long as Assad is still part of the government, it's not legitimate, Reuters reports, with George Sabra of the High Negotiations Committee saying that what Assad is talking about "has no relation to the political process." They are asking for the establishment of a transitional government with full powers, with Assad gone.

More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed since the civil war broke out five years ago, and nearly 5 million refugees have fled the country. Assad told Russia's RIA news agency the war has seriously damaged infrastructure and cost more than $200 billion in economic losses. The Syrian state news agency SANA reports that Assad wants the United Nations to know Syria is ready to cooperate with "all sincere efforts" to fight terrorism, and "this moment might be the most appropriate to accelerate the collective war against terrorism."

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