Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has raised the possibility of Germany acting as a mediator to try to end his country's 30-month-long civil war.
Speaking to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Mr Assad said he "would be delighted if envoys came from Germany".
But he stressed that Damascus would not negotiate with rebels unless they laid down their weapons.
Mr Assad again denied claims that his troops had used chemical weapons, blaming the rebels instead.
In the interview to be published on Monday, Mr Assad said that US President Barack Obama had "not even a whisper of proof" that Damascus had used chemical weapons.
"He has nothing to offer other than lies."
The BBC reports he contrasted Washington's stance with that of Moscow, describing the Russians as "true friends".
The interview comes just days after a team given the job of eliminating Syria's chemical weapons said it had made "encouraging initial progress" after talks with government officials.
