Asked whether he would be willing to join negotiations called for by world powers by Jan. 1, he said: "They want the Syrian government to negotiate with terrorists, something I don't think anyone would accept in any country."
"Whenever they want to change their approach, give up the armaments, we are ready, while to deal with them as a political entity, this is something we completely refuse," he said in response to another question about whether he would be willing to negotiate with opposition groups that met in Riyadh this week.