UN envoy Brahimi meets Syria's Assad

Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special envoy to Syria, has met with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to discuss a solution to the country's 21-month-old conflict.

Brahimi told journalists after the meeting on Monday that they discussed the overall situation in Syria and shared his views with Assad on how to solve the crisis. He said conditions in the country were still poor.

Brahimi's trip is his third to Damascus since taking his post in August.

A deadlock had prevailed between the West and Russia over whether President Assad should step down or not. Russia had said the international community did not have the right to exclude anyone, not even Assad.

Diplomats told Al Jazeera that this deadlock seemed to be easing.

Diplomats told Al Jazeera that it is not likely that a transitional government would be announced during Brahimi’s current visit, saying negotiations may drag on for some time.

In a news conference on Sunday, Omran al-Zoubi, Syria's information minister, repeated the Syrian government's line that it is fighting "terrorist groups" backed by foreign powers who seek to destroy Syria.

Al-Zoubi said the government was willing to engage in dialogue but said the other side wasn't.

"We speak of dialogue with those who believe in national dialogue," he said. "But those who rejected dialogue in their statements and called for arms and use of weapons, that's a different issue. They don't want dialogue."

Rebel groups refuse to talk to Assad, demanding that he step down instead.