Syria's armed opposition movement is no longer capable of overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, US National Intelligence Director Dan Coats said.
"The Syrian opposition's seven-year insurgency is probably no longer capable of overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad or overcoming a growing military disadvantage," Coats said in a statement for the record titled "Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community."
"Moscow probably cannot force President Assad to agree to a political settlement that he believes significantly weakens him, unless Moscow is willing to remove Assad by force," he added.
"While Assad may engage in peace talks, he is unlikely to negotiate himself from power or offer meaningful concessions to the opposition."
As he specified, ISIS still had enough resources to maintain its insurgency operations in Syria throughout this year.
