Assad says he has no intention of giving up power

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has said he has no intention of giving up power and that the issue is not up for discussion.

Dr Assad reportedly told Russian parliamentarians in Damascus today that "if we wanted to give up, we would have done so at the very beginning".

“We are on guard for our country. This issue is not up for discussion,” the Russian Interfax news agency reported.

The comments underscored differences between participants ahead of international peace talks in Montreux, Switzerland, on Wednesday which are seen as the most serious global effort yet to end Syria’s three-year conflict, during which Dr Assad has enjoyed Russia’s protection.

The United Nations hopes the talks will bring about a political transition in the country, and US secretary of state John Kerry said last week that Syria's future had no place for Dr Assad.

Syria, however, said in a letter to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon last week that its focus at the peace conference would be on fighting "terrorism".

Syria’s main political opposition group in exile agreed yesterday to attend the Geneva talks and said three rebel fighting forces also wanted to take part.

National Coalition spokesman Louay Safi told Reuters the Soldiers of the Levant, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the Mujahideen Army all wanted "to have some representation within the delegation" at the talks on Wednesday in Montreux.

It was not immediately clear what role they might play.

Rebel brigades had previously rejected Geneva - demanding the removal of Dr Assad before talks. Their support is seen as critical if any deals have any chance of being rolled out.

All three are established forces, through restrictions on journalists in Syria makes it impossible to give independent estimates of their size.

A fourth fighting group, the Islamic Front - thought to be bigger than the other three combined - was still deciding whether to attend, Mr Safi added.

Reuters