Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in an exclusive interview with AFP, has accused the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is trying four suspects in the assassination of Lebanon's former premier, of being "politicized" and aimed at pressuring his ally Hezbollah.
"Nine years have passed since the beginning of this trial. Has justice been served? Every accusation was made for political reasons," he said on Sunday, days after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon began hearing evidence in the 2005 killing of Rafiq Hariri.
"We have not seen any tangible proof put forward against the parties involved in the case," added Assad, whose regime came under suspicion in the killing, along with Lebanon's powerful Shiite group.
"The real question should be: why the timing? Why now? This court was set up nine years ago," he added.
"I believe that the whole thing is politicized and is intended to put pressure on Hezbollah in Lebanon in the same way that it aimed at putting pressure on Syria in the beginning, immediately after al-Hariri's assassination," he said.
Assad said there is a "significant" chance he will seek a new term this year, and dismissed the prospect of an opposition premier.
Speaking at the presidential palace in Damascus, days before the beginning of the Geneva II peace talks, Assad said he expected his country's bloody conflict to drag on, calling it a "fight against terrorism" and rejecting any distinction between opposition fighters and radical jihadists.
"I see no reason why I shouldn’t stand," Assad said.
If "there is public desire and a public opinion in favour of my candidacy, I will not hesitate for a second to run for election."
"In short, we can say that the chances for my candidacy are significant," added Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez in 2000.
He dismissed the opposition, which has said it will go to the Geneva talks with the primary objective of forcing him from office, as having been "created" by foreign backers.
And he described the possibility of appointing key opposition figures to the post of prime minister as nothing more than "a good joke".
They "come to the border for a 30-minute photo opportunity and then they flee," he said. "How can they be ministers in the government?"
"These propositions are totally unrealistic, but they do make a good joke!"
The Syrian leader said he expected the country's conflict to grind on, although he said his forces were making progress.
The conflict, which began in March 2011, has cost more than 130,000 lives according to estimates from one NGO, and has displaced millions of Syrians.
"What we can say is that we are making progress and moving forward. This doesn't mean that victory is near at hand; these kinds of battles are complicated, difficult and they need a lot of time," he said.
"Should Syria lose this battle, that would mean the spread of chaos throughout the Middle East," he added.
Assad said peace talks starting Wednesday in the Swiss towns of Montreux and Geneva should focus on his "war on terrorism", despite the opposition's insistence the talks would lead to his departure from office.
"The Geneva conference should produce clear results with regard to the fight against terrorism in Syria," he said.
"This is the most important decision or result that the Geneva conference could produce. Any political solution that is reached without fighting terrorism has no value."
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