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

A banner in Damascus featuring Bashar al-Assad.
(Image credit: Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.