Syria's Assad May Run for Re-Election in 2014

Says he doesn't see any obstacles

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad might consider running for re-election in 2014, he told a television interviewer on Monday, saying he saw nothing that would get in the way of doing so.

"Personally, I don't see any obstacles to being nominated to run in the next presidential elections," he said on Syria's Al Mayadeen TV when asked whether he thought it was suitable to hold the election in 2014.

Assad inherited power from his father in 2000 and was confirmed in an election in which he ran unopposed. He was re-elected in 2007. The Assad family has ruled Syria, where parliament is considered a rubber stamp, for more than 40 years.