Assad 'will remain president of Syria' after talks, minister says "If anyone thinks we are going to Geneva 2 to hand the keys to Damascus over (to the opposition), then he might as well not go," Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said in remarks carried by the official SANA news agency. The two sides are set to meet in Geneva on January 22 in talks brokered by the UN-Arab league envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. But the dispute over Assad's role in the transition, and the endemic divisions among both the external opposition and rebels battling on the ground, have cast doubt over whether the two sides can even reach an agreement let alone implement it. The National Coalition, an umbrella opposition group, has demanded the creation of a "transitional governing body" with "full executive powers" that excludes Assad and his inner circle. The conflict began nearly three years ago with peaceful pro-democracy protests inspired by the Arab Spring but escalated into a full-scale civil war after Assad's regime launched a brutal crackdown. Today hundreds of armed groups, including powerful jihadist brigades affiliated with Al-Qaeda, are battling both the regime and each other, complicating any efforts to reach a political settlement.