World Bulletin / News Desk 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared on Friday that he would not negotiate with armed groups, appearing to taint peace talks that Russia and the United States hope to bring about next month.

Washington helped broker an agreement reached on Thursday by more than 100 members of Syria'sopposition parties and more than a dozen rebel fighting groups.

The initiative is driven at least partly by their focus on defeating a common enemy in the form of ISIL which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq and is increasingly ordering or inspiring attacks on the West and Russia.

But in an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE, Assad said he would not hold political talks with any armed groups, and accused Washington and its ally Saudi Arabia of wanting "terrorist groups" to join negotiations.

He said Syria had had contact with armed groups for one reason only: "to reach a situation where they give up their armaments and either join the government or go back to their normal life ... This is the only way to deal with the militants 
in Syria.

"There's no point in meeting in New York or anywhere else without defining terrorist groups," he said. "For us, in Syria, everyone who holds a machinegun is a terrorist."

Foreign ministers of countries opposed to Assad are due to meet in Paris on Monday to prepare for talks with Russia and Middle Eastern countries in New York on Thursday with a specific focus on trying to form the opposition delegation for the peace talks.

source: France 24