Assad proposes 'full amnesty' for Syrian rebels who lay down their arms

Syrian President Bashar Assad says in an interview with German television that rebels who lay down their arms can expect a "full amnesty."

Assad was asked in the interview with ARD television airing Tuesday what a moderate rebel could do to be accepted by him as a Syrian civilian again.

According to excerpts released by the channel, he replied: "Just to give up your armament, whether you want to join the political process or (are) not interested about the political process."

He added that the most important thing for him is that citizens can't hold machine guns and hurt people — "This is the only thing that we ask. We don't ask for anything. As I said, we give them full amnesty."