DAMASCUS, Syria, March 27 (UPI) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave two recent interviews in which he discussed his relationship with U.S. officials, in one saying he would be "open" to dialogue and in another dismissing the United States as "colonialist" and "warmongers."
"As principle, in Syria we could say that every dialogue is a positive thing, and we are going to be open to any dialogue with anyone, including the United States, regarding anything based on mutual respect," Assad told Charlie Rose during an interview for CBS Evening News that aired Thursday.