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I won't step down, says Syria President Bashar al-Assad

Beirut: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he won't step down before elections are held in his war-ravaged country.

The Syrian leader's comments, published on Saturday in the Argentine newspaper Clarin, highlight the difficulties the US and Russia face in getting the Assad regime and Syria's political opposition to the table at an international conference envisioned for next month. The country's main opposition group has demanded that these talks lead to Assad's departure.

However, Assad says such a dialogue shouldn't "decide a matter that has not been decided by the people."

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Syrian refugees exceed 1.5 million: UNHCR

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Iraq: Two blasts outside Sunni Muslim mosque kill 76

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Death toll in Syria likely as high as 120,000: Rights group

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Telugu actor Naga Chaitanya to star in 'Hello Brother'

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Pakistan Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman resigns

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All my successors in Rail ministry getting derailed: Lalu

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