So Obama will negotiate with this guy but not the Republican party?

Via JPost:

[A]ssad said that US President Barack Obama had “not even a whisper of proof” that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons.

The Syrian president continued to uphold his claim that his regime had not used chemical weapons.

“This is a misstatement. So is the picture you paint of me as a man who kills his own people,” he told the magazine

“He has nothing to offer other than lies,” said Assad, contrasting Washington’s stance with that of the Russians, who he viewed as “real friends”.

“They understand much better what this is really about here… The Russians are much more independent than you in Europe, where you all orientate yourselves so much towards the United States.”

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is more determined than ever to support us… He knows from his own fight against terrorism in Chechnya what we are going through here.”