Syria's Farouk al-Sharaa says neither Damascus nor rebels can win civil war
Vice-president urges Assad to seek accord with rebels to stop the nation crumbling into oblivion
Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa has said neither his government nor the rebels fighting to overthrow it can achieve a decisive victory in the conflict - a rare admission by a top official that the outcome sought by President Bashar al-Assad is unlikely.
Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim in a power structure dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, has rarely been seen since the revolt erupted in March last year and is not part of the president's inner circle directing the fight against Sunni rebels.
He is the most prominent figure to say publicly that Assad will not win the conflict.
"No opposition can end the battle militarily, just as the security forces and army cannot achieve a decisive conclusion," he told the pro-Damascus Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar.
"Every day that passes, we are moving further away from a military or political solution," added Sharaa. "We must position ourselves to defend Syria's existence; we are not in a battle for an individual or a regime.
"The various opposition forces - whether armed or civilian, or linked to foreign powers - cannot claim they are the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people."