Riad Hijab, general coordinator of the Supreme Negotiations Committee, said that the Assad regime is ineligible to sit at the negotiating table as it barely controls 18% of Syrian territory. “The only Syrian province that remains under the Assad regime’s full control is Tartous,” Hijab stated.

Hijab added that the Assad regime has lost control of all the roads that link Syria to neighboring countries as well as of almost all border crossings.

“Moreover, the Assad regime controls only 8% of the oil and gas fields in Syria. I, therefore, wonder how we will negotiate with a regime that has lost control over its resources and assets,” he said. (Source: Syrian Coalition)