Syria interim PM: No resolution with Assad in power

Ghassan Hitto, appointed as interim prime minister by the Syrian opposition, said on Wednesday resolution of the Syria crisis was not possible with the Assad regime, as the two-year old conflict in the country showed no sign of abating. Hitto, in his first interview as prime minister, told AA correspondent that the Syrian opposition was not averse to political resolution, but it would not happen with Assad in power. "Assad killed his own people, destroyed cities; even animals received their share of suffering. For two years, he has had many opportunities for dialogue but he refused to take them," Hitto said. "We, the Syrian opposition, are not against dialogue and wish to see a political resolution, but it will not materialize with a regime that kills innocent people." Syrian Coalition of Revolutionary & Opposition Forces (SMDK), the group that elected Hitto, would be the sole administrative authority for the interim government, prime minister said, with the Coalition approving ministries and acting as a parliament. Hitto said he, on behalf of the Syrian people, thanked the Turkish government and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for extending their help to war-hit Syrians. "The revolution would not be where it is today but for Turkey's support,"Hitto said. Member of a well-known family in the Kurdish-dominated town of Rukn Eddin, Hitto worked as a technician for the first five years of his career before beginning to serve in executive capacity for a company, a post which he maintained for twenty years. He conducted volunteer work in various fields and played an active role in establishing many organizations that defended the rights of Muslim and Arab communities in the United States, including "Association for defending Muslim-Arab Minority Rights", which he founded there in 2001. The second Kurdish figure to assume a high-ranking representative position in the Syrian opposition after Abdulbaset Sieda, former President of the Syria National Council, Hitto was born in Damascus in 1963 and studied business and management at the graduate school of Indian Wesleyan University till 1994. Hitto served as an executive for many international companies. Supporting the Syrian revolt since its inception, Hitto is known for humanitarian aid campaigns he organizes for Syrians in the US and his strong relations with the United Nations, as well as with various international institutions and governments. Hitto is married with four children.