Syrian Vice-President Farouq al-Sharaa has told Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar that without a settlement, neither side can win the war in Syria.

See here for full interview on al-Akhbar.

Quotes from al-Sharaa reproduced below:

“The drop in the number of peaceful protesters led one way or another to the rise in militants,”

“While it is the duty of the state to provide its citizens with security, this is different than deciding on a military solution to the crisis. The two issues should not be mixed.”

“All of this should have required a discussion of mechanisms and an attempt at a Syrian-Syrian solution. The dialogue we adopted in July 2011 aimed at solving the crisis politically from the start, by Syrian hands,”

“But things did not go in this direction. The crisis was Arabized. Syria, a founding member of the League of Arab States, saw its membership suspended from the league without justification or a pretext that could convince Syrian citizens.”

“There were many mistakes made by the Arab League and the [Syrian] state both, which cannot be forgotten or stepped over,”

“No credible commission of inquiry was set up at the beginning of the crisis. If some were set up, the results were not made public, allowing for the spread of rumors that lost the regime its credibility and stature in the eyes of those who were wronged internally and outside observers.”

“With every passing day, the solution gets further away, militarily and politically. We must be in the position of defending Syria’s existence. We are not in a battle for the survival of an individual or a regime.”