Syria's Assad says open to dialogue with U.S.: CBS interview

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is open to having a dialogue with the United States, but there can be ** "pressuring of the sovereignty" of his country, he said in an excerpt of an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired on Thursday. Asked about recent comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Washington would have to negotiate with the Syrian leader to end the conflict there, Assad said: "As principal, in Syria we could say that every dialogue is a positive thing, and we are going to be open to any dialogue with anyone, including the United States, regarding anything based on mutual respect." While saying there had been ** direct communication between Damascus and Washington, Assad, who has been fighting Islamist and other rebels since 2011, added: "Any dialogue is positive, as I said, in principal, of course, without pressuring the sovereignty of Syria." The United States still wants a negotiated political settlement to Syria's civil war that excludes Assad, U.S. officials said earlier this month after Kerry's comments.

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