Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published Sunday that Syria has held meetings “from time to time” with Washington, as it seeks openings after over a decade of isolation. This comes despite Assad being the target of a long list of U.S sanctions.
The United States was among the first to cut ties with Assad over the repression of anti-government protests that sparked war in 2011, and many Western and Arab states also severed relations.
“America is currently illegally occupying part of our lands… but we meet with them from time to time, although these meetings do not lead to anything,” Assad said in an interview with a Russian-backed official from Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, published by Syria’s official Sana news agency.
Assad did not give further details about who was involved in the meetings, or what was discussed.
“There is always hope: even when we know there will be no results we must try,” he said when asked about the possibility of mending ties with the West.
