Khaddam, who accuses al-Assad of ordering al-Hariri's murder, said: "His fall has already begun. I don't think his regime will last out this year." The former vice-president, for 30 years a confidant of al-Assad's late father, Hafez al-Assad, left the government in June.
He has been accused of treason and expelled from the ruling Baath Party after a series of verbal attacks on the president. Khaddam told the Associated Press earlier this month he wanted political change in
Asked whether he supported regime change in
Islamists and Baathists
But when asked by Der Spiegel whether he was seeking to form a government-in-exile, he said: "That is correct." Khaddam said he would be ready to work with Islamist leaders, whom he called "part of the rich Islamic mosaic that defines the basic character of our country", and the Baath Party.
"I would not rule out any political group that sticks to the basic rules of democracy," he said. "One should not make the mistake with the Syrian Baath Party that the Americans made with the Iraqi Baath Party.
Order to kill
"The majority of Baathists in
Khaddam also repeated the allegation he made earlier this week that al-Assad had ordered the murder of al-Hariri. "I'm convinced: the order came from al-Assad," he said. "He is an extremely impulsive man, he is always losing his cool."
