Bashar al-Assad has given a cool reception to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks that the Syrian leader should be included in talks to reach a political transition in the war-torn country.<br /><br /> Speaking as he met an Iranian minister in the Syrian capital, Assad said such statements “from outside do not concern us”.<br /><br /> He welcomed any international change in attitude to Syria’s situation as positive but <br />said foreign countries should stop supporting terrorist groups, a term Damascus uses for insurgents fighting his regime.<br /><br /> “Whether they say I remain or not, the Syrian people have the final say on this particular matter,” Assad said.<br /><br /> With violence still raging four years after a popular uprising first started, Kerry broke with the standard US line on Sunday, raising the prospect of negotiations with Syria’s president.<br /><br /> In an interview with US TV channel CBS, Kerry said: “We have to negotiate in the end,” <br />when asked whether the United States would be willing to talk to the Syria
